


Keep Your  Kids Close

by showtunediva



Series: The Warbucks Family Saga [4]
Category: Annie - Strouse/Charnin/Meehan
Genre: Gen, Gun Violence, Other, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-20
Updated: 2014-06-20
Packaged: 2018-02-05 10:20:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1815070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/showtunediva/pseuds/showtunediva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A shooting happens at  Frederick and Joanne's  middle school. This story will chornicle  how the Warbucks Family and their friends deal with these events.  Joanne and Friederick Warbucks  their friends  friends family members and teachers are my own creation</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Shooting

**Author's Note:**

> RATED PG 13 for Gun Violence and Suicide

It was a typical Tuesday morning in the Warbucks household. Fall had arrived and Joanne and Frederick had recently celebrated their 11th birthday. Grace could not believe how fast her youngest children were growing up. It seemed as if it was only yesterday she rocked them to sleep in the nursery at the mansion as infants. While their intial adjustment to moving to Queens had been difficult they were very well adjusted now. Grace had started her fifth year of teaching at Northside Elementary School at the end of August where she taught 4th grade.

She walked Frederick and Joanne out to the bus stop at 6:45am that morning. "I love you both. Have a great day." she kissed her children on the top of the head,  
"We love you too Mama." Joanne said. The bus came and they boarded. Grace walked up the driveway and went back in the house to finish getting ready for work.

Little did anyone in the Warbucks family know what kind of drama would unfold in school that day.

At around 10:45 am a phone call came to Grace's classroom. "Mrs. Warbucks, please come down to the office. There's an urgent call for you."  
Grace rarely received any phone calls at work. She hoped nothing was wrong with Joanne and Frederick. Her students were in art class so she walked down to the office right away. When she got there she picked up the phone right away. It was Mrs. Pugh. 

"Grace, sweetheart. I'm so sorry to call you at work."  
Grace noticed right away that her surrogate mother's voice sounded nervous. "What's wrong Mama?"

"We just got a call from the middle school. A student bought a gun to school today and started a rampage. The school is on lockdown."

Grace's heart rate quickened. 'My babies.' she thought to herself

"Why would anyone bring a gun to school?" Grace asked.

"No one has any clue of a motive."

"Are Frederick and Joanne alright?"  
"As far as I know they are safe in their classrooms. No one is even allowed to go outside in the hallway because the gunman is still on the loose."

"Thank you for calling Mama. I'll see you when I get home this afternoon."

Grace went through the motions of the rest of the morning. At lunch she sat in the teacher's room staring blankly at the wall. Another teacher named Stacey Eriksson sat down next to her.

"Are you alright Grace?"

Grace shook her head. "My mother called me a little while ago and told me there is a shooter on the loose at the middle school."

"Are your children all right?"

Grace shrugged. "I have no idea. I hope they are safe. I am really worried about them."  
Stacey put a comforting arm around Grace. "I'm sure they will be fine Grace. They must be really scared though. I can only imagine the thoughts that must be running though their heads."

At the end of the day Grace drove back to the apartment. The front door burst open and Joanne flew outside. Grace picked her daughter up immediately and hugged her close not wanting to let her go.

"Oh Mama, today was so scary." Joanne had tears in her eyes.

"I know baby girl. I am so glad you and your brother are safe. I have been worried about you two all day."  
"I love you Mama."  
"I love you too sweetheart."  
That night as they were getting ready for bed Oliver pulled Grace into the familiar embrace that she loved so much. "Are you alright darling?"  
Grace shook her head. " I'm certainly glad that Frederick and Joanne were not hurt today. I was so worried about them. This situation could have had a far more terrible outcome."  
"That child should be locked up in juvenile detention!"  
"Does anyone know who it is?"  
Oliver nodded solemnly. " I dismissed Frederick and Joanne from school early today. Frederick said his friend's older brother was the one who had the gun."  
"Which friend?"  
"Casey Abramson's brother Darryl. He's in 8th grade. "  
"What would possess him to bring a gun to school and go on a rampage to harm innocent people?"  
Oliver shrugged his shoulders. " I haven't the slightest idea. The principal and the police are looking into that. Hopefully we will more details in the next couple days"  
"Was anyone injured?"  
" Yes, but thankfully not too seriously."  
There was a tap on the door. 

""Come in." Grace answered. Joanne peeked her head in the room. She didn't say anything.

Oliver took his daughter's hand gently. " Did you want to talk to Mom and Dad about what happened today darling?"

Joanne nodded.

"Come on, let's all sit down together on the bed."

Oliver, Grace and Joanne sat down on the bed. Grace pulled Joanne into her lap and kissed her forehead gently. 

"I have never been so scared before." Joanne whispered.

"Are you scared to go to school tomorrow sweetheart?" Oliver asked.

Joanne nodded. "A little bit." she whispered

"You have nothing to be afraid of. The gunman was taken to the police station for questioning."

"I don't want him to go to jail Daddy!" 

Grace was angry that this had happened and that her daughter was afraid to go to school. "We understand the gunman is Frederick's friend's brother. Have you ever met him before?" 

Joanne nodded. "My friend Jasmine's older sister Anna dates Darryl. They've been dating since May. Darryl has been over their house a few times when I've been over there."  
"Was he ever mean to you?"  
Joanne shook her head. " No, he wasn't. That's why this is so surprising. I don't understand it at all."

Oliver looked at his daughter solemnly. " Nobody understands why this happened sweetheart. The police and your principal are investigating it."

"Two other people were shot today trying to protect groups of other people in the 8th grade hallway."

Grace was surprised to hear this. " Are they okay?"

Joanne shrugged. "The ambulance had to come to take them to the hospital. I don't know how badly they were injured."

"Did you want to sleep with us tonight angel?" Oliver asked.  
Joanne nodded.  
"Go on and get your pajamas on. We'll have a slumber party."  
"Okay."  
Joanne left the room.

"She's really shaken up by this." Oliver said to Grace.  
"I am too. I think we should go to the school to talk to the principal and get more details about this Oliver."  
"We'll have to wait. Who knows how long it will take the police to complete the investigation."

Joanne came back five minutes later.

"Let's all get some shut eye. Hopefully things will be a bit less confusing in the morning." Oliver said as he kissed his wife and daughter softly on their foreheads. "Good night my beautiful girls."  
"Good night." Grace whispered.  
After snuggling down under the covers Grace felt Joanne curl into her side.

"Mama, I love you and Daddy so much." Joanne whispered.  
"We love you too baby girl. Get some sleep." Grace kissed her youngest daughter on the cheek. 

A few days later there was a letter sent home to all the parents in the middle school about the shooting. Grace's heart broke when she read it.

Oliver came into the kitchen and noticed the distressed look on his wife's face. "What's wrong Grace?"

"Joanne and Frederick brought this letter home from the principal today. It's about the shooting."

"What does it say?"

Grace choked up. "It says that the police investigation revealed that Darryl had gotten into a fight with his mother the previous night about something related to his relationship with Jasmine's sister. I guess Jasmine's mother thinks that they are too young to date so they want them to break up."  
"Does Darryl's mother agree with Jasmine's mother?"  
"Yes."  
" Well I suppose 8th grade is too young to date. I mean they are only 13. Annie and Molly waited awhile before they started to date."  
"Is there any other motive related to the shooting?"  
"The police are still investigating but I think that's something they are looking into further."  
"How did he get the gun?"  
"That wasn't really touched upon in the letter."  
"Did they say who was injured?

Grace nodded. "Darryl fired into two groups of students in the 8th grade hallway. Jasmine's sister was in one of those groups of people but she wasn't seriously injured. Two teachers and two students were transported to the hospital with minor injuries. Jasmine was one of the students transported to the hospital."  
"Did he shoot himself?"  
Grace shook her head. " No. He's still alive. He's in police custody for a few days. He won't be back in school for at least another week."  
Oliver was furious. " He's a punk Grace! He shouldn't go back to school. He should be locked up in juvenile detention!"  
"It's not fair to pass judgment on someone we don't know that well."  
Oliver scoffed. "I know him well enough. I saw him at all of Frederick and Casey's soccer games the past couple years. His father has been recently complaining that Darryl hangs out with a bad group of kids outside of school."  
"Do you suppose this might be drug related?"  
Oliver shrugged. "I wouldn't be too surprised."


	2. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks after the shooting parent/teacher conferences take place. Grace and Oliver find out that their children are not doing well in school in the wake of the shooting.

Parent teacher conferences took place at the middle school two weeks after the shooting on Monday evening. The 6th grade was split up in to two teams of four teachers and Joanne and Frederick were on different teams. Oliver went to talk to Joanne's teachers and Grace went to talk to Frederick's teachers. Both conferences started at 6:30. Joanne had the same teachers that Molly had in 6th grade several years before so Oliver was familiar with what they expected of their students. 

The parents went through the regular schedule that their students had for the school day. For fourth period Oliver met with Joanne's homeroom teacher again since she was also her English teacher. After she met with the full group of parents she asked to talk to Oliver privately.

"Is anything wrong Mrs. Williams?" Oliver asked  
The teacher nodded her head. "Joanne has not been doing very well dealing with the aftermath of the shooting."  
. "What seems to the be the trouble?"  
"Well normally your daughter is very excited about her studies and doing group activities with her friends. Since the shooting she has been very withdrawn from the other students and it is very concerning to me."  
Oliver was very shocked to hear this. "Why is she so withdrawn?"

The teacher shrugged. " I think when events like this happen people have different ways of processing things. I know her best friend Jasmine is the sister of the girl who dated the shooter. Maybe she just hasn't come to terms with that yet.. I think Jasmine has been having trouble dealing with this as well. She is a lot of the same classes as Joanne."  
Have her grades been suffering?"  
Mrs., Williams nodded. "She usually gets As and Bs in English and Social Studies. She is now getting between B-s and C+s."  
"What can we do to help her?"  
"Maybe you should get together with Jasmine and her parents and see if you can all talk about the shooting in a group.. see if Jasmine and Joanne are experiencing similar emotions. They could both be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. "  
"Okay. I will talk to my wife and we can see when we can get together with Jasmine in her parents. We're willing to help our kids get through this any way we can.   
The conferences were over by 8:30. Oliver met Grace in the lobby of the school and they headed for the car.  
"Everything going alright with Frederick?"  
Grace shook her head. "Apparently he's been having a hard time dealing with the aftermath of the shooting. His academics are affected slightly. I'm concerned."  
Oliver nodded "Joanne's teacher said the same thing. She said that Jasmine has been having trouble as well. Did Frederick's teacher mention anything at all about Casey having difficulties."  
Grace nodded.  
"Did she suggest having a meeting with Joanne's parents?"  
Oliver nodded. " I assume Frederick's teacher suggested a similar thing for Casey's parents?"

Grace nodded. She felt once again like she was in a nightmare. She had experienced similar emotions several years before when Molly was diagnosed with dyslexia. "I hate to know our children are suffering Oliver. Joanne has expressed feelings of concern to us but Frederick hasn't said anything to either of us about how he feels."  
"Joanne's teacher said that people cope differently in situations like this. Maybe Frederick has found another way to cope. I am not exactly sure of his method."

"Do you suppose we should have Jasmine Casey and their parents over for dinner sometime this week?" Grace asked her husband.

" I think that's a great idea sweetheart. We really need to get to the bottom of how our kids are feeling. I'll call them when we get home and see if they can come over on Thursday night. "  
Once they got to the car Oliver noticed that Grace had started to cry. He took his wife's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Don't fret sweetheart. Everything will be alright. You'll see."  
"I love you." Grace whispered.  
"I love you too. Forever and always."

Three days later Casey and Jasmine came home with Joanne and Frederick on the bus. They did their homework and watched a movie. At 5 their parents arrived. Anna was at a friend's house working on a project. The three couples sat down and their younger children sat down to dinner. Once they were done eating and the plates were cleared. Oliver led everyone into the library.  
Oliver cleared his throat.  
"Kids, we're having a meeting with you four to talk about the shooting. Your teachers have bought to our attention their concern that you are struggling emotionally and it is affecting your school work,"

Casey Frederick Joanne and Jasmine exchanged glances.

"Is it true that your grades have slipped?" Casey's mother asked.

They all nodded.

Grace noticed that her daughter and Jasmine looked very upset. She knelt down in front of the couch and took their hands.  
" What's wrong darlings? Please tell us."

"I don't know if anyone really understands how we feel about this." Joanne whispered.

"Yeah, it's so hard to talk about this with our friends." Jasmine agreed. 

"What makes it so hard?" Jasmine's mother asked.   
" None of us understand why Darryl would shoot Anna if he claims he loved her ." Jasmine said nodding her head toward Frederick and Casey.

"Boys, how do you feel about this?" Oliver asked.

Frederick shrugged. " I don't know."

"You must feel kind some of emotion." Oliver said.  
Frederick shook his head. "Nope."

"What about you Case? " Mr. Abramson asked his son.  
"I'm real mad at Darryl for doing this. I don't know what to think of him now. He's always been my role model."

"Do you have any other children besides Darryl and Casey?" Grace asked.  
Mr. Abramson nodded. "Yes. We have a daughter named Megan. She's only in 2nd grade. She's too young to really understand what's going on but she knows Darryl's in a lot of trouble." 

 

"Some people we know are judging my sister's relationship with Darryl and it really upsets me." Jasmine said.  
"What do they say?" Grace asked. Casey's mother was suddenly overcome with emotion.

"They say ' He's a loser. He's a druggie. Anna deserves better. He's just using her."

"How long has this been going on?" Mr. Abramson demanded.

"Since the day after the shooting. "

"How does make you feel?" Mrs. Abramson asked. 

"Really mad. My sister doesn't like being judged by other people. Daryl doesn't like it either."

Casey nodded. "He didn't mean to shoot Anna or anyone else. He was angry. It was an accident."

Oliver looked at Mr. Abramson. " Rich, you said your son hangs out with a rough group of kids. Is he into drugs?"

Mr. Abramson nodded his head. " Yes, Oliver he is. He smokes marijuana. The police suspect that he was hiding drugs in his locker."

"How long has he been smoking?"

"Since before he started to date Anna."

Grace was surprised. " He hasn't smoked around the kids has he?"

Valerie . Abramson shook her head. "No. He was never allowed to smoke in the house. Neither were any of his friends."

"Did he ever try to get Anna to smoke?"

Jasmine's mother nodded.

"Yes Oliver, He did, We never really knew Darryl's true intentions for Anna but one thing we know for sure is that we didn't want her to smoke. My uncle died of lung cancer so we want encourage our kids to stay away from smoking."

"Did anything related to drugs lead to the shooting?" Grace asked. 

The police suspect that Anna was trying to stop a sale of drugs from happening in the hallway. Darryl was angry at her for getting involved." Mr. Abramson said. 

"That wouldn't cause him to shoot people would it?"

"I think the shots were warning shots to tell people to get out of the way. They were never intended to hurt anyone but the end result was two people getting injured."  
"How many drugs were found in the locker that Anna was trying to barricade?"

"The police search came up with three four pound bags of marijuana. I'm sure they'll be more."   
"Do you think the kids are also hiding the drugs in their houses?"  
Mrs. Abramson shrugged. "We really don't want the police to search our house. We're afraid of what they may end up finding."

"I don't like knowing my sister got hurt. I hate seeing her in pain." Jasmine said.  
"Come here sweetheart." her mother said, sitting down next to her on the couch and pulling her on to her lap.

Oliver cleared his throat.  
"This has certainly been a traumatic situation for all of you but we don't want this to affect your studies. Do you understand?"

All four children nodded. "Yes sir." Frederick said.   
"We love all of you very much and you should never be afraid to talk to us about anything alright?" Mrs. Abramson said.

All four children nodded. "Okay Mom." Casey said. 

"What can we do to help you all get through this?" Grace asked.

"I think our teachers need to tell our friends that they shouldn't judge Darryl and Anna without knowing the whole story." Jasmine said.

Frederick Casey and Joanne all nodded in agreement.

"Why can't you tell them yourselves?"

"They don't seem to listen. They think we're trying to defend Daryl and think that he wasn't wrong when we all know what he did was wrong."

"Is Daryl going to therapy?" Grace asked

Valerie Abramson nodded. " He's been going to see someone for awhile. He's dealt with anger management issues for over a year."

"What is making him so angry?" Jasmine's father asked.  
Mr. Abramson shrugged. "We honestly don't know what's gotten in to him. He's constantly getting into fights with us. It doesn't make the living situation very easy."

"Has he been violent?" Grace asked

"He hit me a few times." Valerie Abramson admitted.

Oliver was shocked to hear this. "Why does he have outbursts like this?"

"We think it's all part of the transition to being a teenager. He's rebelling against us. We're hoping it's a phase."

"The transition to being a teenager should have nothing at all to do with violent behavior." Oliver said.

"Has he ever been mean to any of you kids?" Grace asked.

Joanne Frederick and Jasmine shook their heads.

"I hate hearing him yell at Mom and Dad though." Casey said.

"Do you all feel better now that we talked about all this?" Grace asked

"Yes Mrs. Warbucks. Thanks for having us over." Casey said.  
Grace put an arm around Casey's shoulder. "As your mom said if any of you ever have any problems you shouldn't be afraid to talk to us."

Jasmine's mother stood up with Jasmine still in her arms. "Thank you for having us over Grace. I think it was great for the kids to talk about what's been bothering them."

"We're here to help. If Anna wants to come over to talk to us she's welcome to do that." Grace hugged Jasmine's mother tightly. 

Later that evening when everyone was getting ready for bed Grace knocked on the door to Joanne and Frederick's bedroom. 

"Come in." the twins chorused.

Grace let herself in.

"Do you kids feel better now that we talked about the shooting?"

Frederick and Joanne nodded.

"I think it was great to talk to Casey and Jasmine too and find out how they were feeling." Frederick said. 

Grace looked worriedly at her son. " Frederick I think now that we know that Darryl is violent you should invite Casey over here until things blow over. I don't want you put in danger."  
Frederick nodded. "Sounds like a plan Mom."

"Mama will you lay down with us?" Joanne asked  
Grace smiled. "Of course angel."   
Grace got under the covers and felt both her children snuggle in on either side of her.  
"My precious babies, you're everything to me. You know that right?"  
"Yeah Mom." Frederick said.  
Joanne kissed her mother's cheek softly. "We love you Mama."

" Your father and I love you both very much. Always know that. If you ever have a problem you should always come to us. You can always call Annie and Molly too."

"Do you think they'll arrest the other people who are involved with the drugs?" Frederick asked.

Grace nodded. "We hope everything related to the shooting will be resolved soon. School should be a safe place for you and all your friends. You shouldn't be afraid."

"Mama. is Darryl going to jail?" Joanne asked.  
Grace shrugged. " I really hope not sweetheart. He's too young to go to jail. At the most I think he needs to go to rehab. It seems like he might be addicted to marijuana."

"Do you think he'd steal money from people for drugs?" Frederick asked.

Grace had never excepted to answer this questions. "Mr. and Mr. Abramson would hope that wouldn't be the case... but sometimes if people are addicted they'll go to great lengths to feed their addictions even it means stealing."


	3. The Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Grace eventually decide to homeschool their children so they can manage their academic progress, Annie also announces that she's having her first child.

On Halloween weekend Molly and Isabella met up with Grace Joanne and Mrs. Pugh to celebrate Annie's birthday. Grace always looked forward to the annual girls only outings for her daughter's birthdays. It was great bonding time for all the women in the Farrell and Warbucks families.

Kathryn Farrell had graduated college the previous year and had an apartment in Allston which wasn't very far from Boston. Annie decided she wanted to go to Salem for her birthday to go to the witch museum and all the Halloween festivities. All of the Warbucks/ Farrell girls dressed up as witches.

After the museum they went to a restaurant for dinner. Annie was so excited to see her sisters again. Now that she was married and on her own she didn't get to visit New York very much.

"So Mol and Bella how is senior year?"

Molly smiled at her sister. " Great! I really can't believe we're graduating in May. These four years flew by so quickly."

"Are you still going to live in New York once you graduate?"

Isabella grinned. "Funny you should ask that Annie. I've actually been looking into high school sports coaching internships for the spring time. I'm thinking of moving closer to you guys. Molly has mentioned she wants to apply for teaching jobs close to where you lived when you first moved to the area."

Kathryn smiled at both her cousins. “There’s a great new apartment building down the street from me that has some openings. When are you looking to move in?"

Isabella returned her cousin's grin. “That’s great Katie. I'll probably start move down here after Christmas. If I don't find a place right away would you and your roommate mind if I stayed with you?"

"Not at all."

Kathryn looked at Joanne.

"Sweetheart, how are you doing with dealing with stuff related to the shooting?"

Joanne smiled at her godmother. "Okay, Katie. It's been hard. Mama said we have nothing to be afraid of."  
Kathryn and Grace exchanged a smile. "Of course there isn't. School should be a happy place."

"What new developments have happened in that situation Gracie?" Jennifer asked her sister.

Grace sighed.

"Well recently I went out to lunch with the girlfriend of the shooter and her mother. It was a very emotional afternoon."

"How is Jasmine's sister doing?"

"Not very well, unfortunately. Darryl has a lot of friends who have been threatening to shoot other people in the school. They are trying to hit people up for drug money. She's afraid to walk the halls alone."

"That poor girl. I feel awful for her." Her sister Melissa said.

Grace nodded. "I do too."

“Is Darryl in juvenile detention?"

Grace shook her head. "No but he should be. He got suspended from school because of the drug charges from the shooting. He was caught smoking on campus after school two days ago."

Joanne frowned. " Is juvenile detention like jail?"

Grace knew her daughter was anxious about Darryl going to jail. " No sweetheart. Juvenile detention is where kids who get in trouble go to get rehabilitated.

"So it's like a counseling center?"

"Somewhat similar.

Jennifer looked concerned. "Didn't you tell me on the phone that this kid Darryl is sort of violent?"

Grace nodded. "Yes. He hit his mother about 3 weeks ago. Valerie was saying how he's been dealing with anger management for over a year now." 

"Doesn't seem too much like the therapy is helping him."

Grace shrugged. “I really think the whole family needs therapy in order to deal with all the emotions they have in the wake of the shooting. Darryl's brother Casey has been taking things rough. He's been spending lots of time with Frederick. He's really afraid to be around his brother. He doesn't want to get hurt."

" That poor boy." Melissa said. 

"Aunt Grace, do you think that the police will find any more drugs at the school?" Isabella asked.

Grace nodded. "The investigation is ongoing sweetheart. I don't think it will end for a couple more weeks."

"Do you think Casey's family will end up moving?" Joanne asked. 

Grace shrugged. "That would devastate your brother. Him and Casey have been friends for four years now but they have to do what is best for them. I don't think Casey wants to be labeled as "The Brother of The Shooter." Anna probably wouldn't want the same label as "The Girlfriend of The Shooter."

"Are other kids giving Anna Jasmine and Casey a hard time?" Kathryn asked.

Grace nodded. " Kids can be so cruel sometimes, Molly you dealt with that when you were diagnosed with dyslexia."

Molly nodded. "That's true but look at me now. I've changed so much since then. I think that this is a rough patch for everyone but Casey Anna and Jasmine will overcome this. I don't think that they should move away because people are giving them difficulties in the aftermath of the shooting. They're just being inconsiderate." 

Grace kissed her daughter's cheek tenderly. "I love you baby girl."

"I love you too Mama."  
Drinks and appetizers arrived a few minutes later. Grace raised a toast to her oldest daughter.  
“Happy birthday Annie my love. You remain forever special to us. We love you.”

Annie smiled. “I love all of you very much. Guess what?”

“What?” Joanne asked  
“Hector and I are having a baby.”

Grace was elated. She was going to be a grandmother. “Congratulations sweetheart. When are you due?”

“Sometime in March or April. We’re so excited!”  
Grace squeezed her daughter’s hand. “We’re all thrilled for you. Should we go shopping soon for the nursery?”  
Annie was deep in thought. “Yes, maybe after Christmas we’ll go shopping I already have a few ideas of decorations I want to buy for the nursery.”

 

A week later the principal sent a letter home to all the parents in the school.

Grace and Oliver went over the letter together.

“Looks like they’re continuing to move forward with the investigation.” Oliver said.

 

Grace sighed. “I really hope this will all be over soon.”

“I think it will take awhile. At least Joanne isn’t afraid to go to school anymore.”

Grace smiled but her smile disappeared quickly.

“What’s wrong sweetheart?”

“The school called me today Frederick got into a fight.”

“That doesn’t sound like him. What happened?”

“Someone was making fun of Casey and he did that right thing in standing up for him but then the kids punched him so Frederick punched back.”

“Fighting should never be the answer to anything.”

“No, it shouldn’t be.. The kids still seem to be having a hard time with all of this but at least they’re able to talk about their feelings.” 

“Frederick hasn’t really said anything about what’s been bothering him though.”

Grace shook her head. “That used to be true but it isn’t anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“When Casey was over last week they came into the kitchen and my mother and I had a talk with them.”

“What did they tell you?”

Grace sighed. “This happened the day after Darryl’s friends threatened to shoot people for drug money. Frederick looked really upset. He said that the fact that there are more drugs in the school doesn’t make things feel very safe.”  
“What did Casey say?”

“He said the police have a warrant to search his house and they came over a few Saturdays ago. They did a routine search and they found 5 three pound bags of marijuana in Darryl’s sock drawer. Rich and Valerie are completely devastated.”

“ Was he scared when the police came over?”

Grace nodded. “Yes and so was their little sister Megan. She didn’t understand why the police came to her house. Oh, Oliver I just wish this would all end. It’s such a nightmare.”

Grace couldn’t hold in her tears any longer. She burst out into gut wrenching sobs. Oliver pulled his wife into his arms and rocked her back and forth. 

“Angel, the police are taking care of everything in the quickest way that they can. Please don’t fret.”

“It’s hard not be nervous when our children and their friends have been so afraid to be in school. Even Jasmine’s sister Anna is afraid. She’s been being bullied for weeks. School should be a safe and happy place. That all changed the day Darryl decided to take a gun to school. Should home schooling be an option?"  
Oliver shook his head. “No, that would just make them give into their fears. We have to be strong for our kids and Casey and Jasmine.”

“It’s just so hard. Erica Samuels said when I met with her and Anna for lunch that she might enroll Anna in a private high school. She doesn’t want her to deal with all the kids taunting her and giving a hard time because she used to date Darryl.”

“Is their family going to move?”

Grace shook her head. “No, they’re going to stay right here in Queens and let Jasmine finish middle school. Then they’re going to enroll Jasmine in the same high school which is in Brooklyn.  
“Is it a boarding school?”  
“Yes. Anna will live there.”  
“Joanne will be devastated when she hears this news.”

“Well they won’t be moving for two more years.”

“What about Casey?”

Grace sighed. “Valerie and I had a long talk on the phone last night. Things have been very rough for Casey lately. He’s been having nightmares and his grades have not really improved since we met with them three weeks ago. I think they’re planning on getting a tutor and homeschooling him for the rest of the year. They need to monitor his academic progress so he doesn’t fall too behind and end up repeating a grade.”

“What’s the latest with Darryl?”

“He was in juvenile detention but now he’s being treated at the state mental hospital in Albany. He was diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia.”  
“How have they been dealing with the diagnosis?”  
“Not very well. Hearing Valerie tell me that brings me back to how devastated I was when I found out Molly had dyslexia.”  
“Well remember how that made us all stronger in the end? This situation will definitely make the Abramsons stronger. Do you think they may end up moving away too?”

Grace’s tears continued to flow. “Valerie said there’s a good possibility they might be moving to Boston in June to go live with her family for a while. They need to get things sorted out and Valerie’s parents are going to help them do that.”

“Will they ever move back to New York?”

Grace shrugged. “They hope this is only a temporary thing but if you want my honest opinion I think that moving away is the best thing they could do right now for the wellbeing of everyone in their family.”

“This will devastate Frederick. Casey is his best friend.”

Grace smiled a little through her tears but they still continued to flow rapidly down her cheeks. “Actually that won’t be half so bad. I’ve been actually considering for awhile moving to Boston to be closer to my sisters and Annie. We’re expecting our first grandchild in the spring and I want to help Annie bring the child up.”  
“Keeping a secret from me are you?”  
“No darling. I was just waiting for the right moment to tell you.”  
Oliver smiled and kissed his wife’s cheek. “This is wonderful news. Our baby girl is having a baby of her own. She’s growing up way too fast Grace.”  
Grace returned her husband’s grin. “And between the two of us and my mother we’re going to spoil that baby rotten.”  
“When is she due?”  
“April.”

“Do you remember that song Annie always used to sing?”

Grace smiled. “Do you mean the one with the line ‘The sun will come out tomorrow”?

“Yes, that’s the one. Just keep that song in the back of your mind and remember that better days are coming for everyone.” Oliver’s embrace tightened around his wife.

“I love you so much Oliver.” Grace kissed her husband’s cheek softly.  
“I love you too baby.” 

 

Later that night when she reading in bed there was a knock at the door. It was Joanne.

“Come in.”

“Can I lay down with you Mama?”

Grace smiled “Come here my sweet girl. I think we need to have a chat.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“Not at all. It’s just about some issues related to the shooting.”

Joanne climbed into the bed next to Grace and snuggled under the covers.

“Your principal sent home a letter today. It said that more drugs were found in your school.”

Joanne had tears in her eyes.

“Mama, I don’t feel safe at school anymore. I want to be at home.” 

“Are your grades still suffering?”

Joanne shrugged. “No but I’m having a lot of trouble focusing.”

“How is Jasmine doing?”

“Not very well.”

“What doesn’t make you feel safe?”  
“There was another incident where Darryl’s friend ran up and down the hallway waving a gun and looking for drugs. He didn’t shoot anybody though.”  
Grace kissed her daughter on the forehead. “ I think we should go to your school next week and have a talk with your teachers. Your father and I are concerned about you and your brother. I think Jasmine and Casey’s parents are worried too.”

“Jasmine said she wants to be homeschooled for the rest of the year. Can you do that for me and Frederick too?”

Grace knew that sooner or later this question was bound to be asked. “That’s the main thing we want to talk to your teachers about. I think due to the issue of safety and how your grades have suffered that might be a good option to consider. We would like you kids to be with us at the meeting.”

“When are we having a meeting with our teachers?”

“As soon as possible.”

Joanne nodded. “Okay. Good.”  
Grace pulled her daughter into a warm embrace “Joanne Rachel, my beautiful girl I love you so much.”  
“I love you too Mama.” Joanne kissed her mother’s check softly and fell asleep in her arms like she did when she was younger.

The following week Grace Oliver Mr. and Mrs. Samuels and Mr. and Mrs. Abramson met in a conference at the middle school with the principal and Joanne and Frederick’s teachers. Joanne Casey Frederick and Jasmine were also present. 

Once everyone was seated the principal softly closed the door of the conference room.

“Let’s get started. Mrs. Williams would you like to start?”

“Yes sir Mr. Peters.” She smiled at Joanne and Jasmine

“Girls, I know you’ve been struggling with dealing with the shooting. Would you mind telling us what’s been bothering you?”

“It’s just we don’t really feel safe at school anymore Mrs. Williams.” Joanne said.

Jasmine nodded. “Ever since the shooting I’ve been afraid to go anywhere by myself.”

“This shooting has caused both of you to struggle academically. You’re aware of this correct?”  
“Yes ma’am.” Joanne and Jasmine answered in unison.

“Have their grades gone up at all since we last met with you?” Oliver asked glancing around the table at all four children.

“No Mr. Warbucks. All four children have been struggling academically I’m afraid”

“If we were to consider homeschooling for the rest of the year would that be a viable option?” Mr. Abramson asked.

Mrs. Williams exchanged a look with the principal and the other teachers.

Mr. Peters cleared his throat.

“Given the situation and the obvious negative affect this event has had on your children I think this might be the best idea for you all.”

“Can you recommend any good tutors we can use?” Mrs. Samuels asked.  
We used an excellent tutor when Molly was dealing with dyslexia diagnosis. Her name was Rosemary Wilson." Grace said.  
"Do you still have her contact information?" Mrs. Williams asked.  
"I'm sure we do but she might be married now.. it has been several years since we last worked with her." Oliver said.  
Casey’s teacher Ms. Abraham smiled warmly. “ That's a great resource Mr. Warbucks. I am sure if she's not available she'll be able to recommend other tutors in the area."

 

Mrs. Abraham looked at Mrs. Abramson. "Do you plan on home schooling Darryl and Casey for the rest of the year?"  
“Darryl is being treated at the state mental hospital in Albany. He was recently diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia and won’t be returning to school for the rest of the year. He is getting tutored at the hospital. We’ll be homeschooling Casey for the rest of the year. In June we are moving to Massacutetts to go live with my parents.”

“Mom! I don’t want to move!” Casey protested.

Mr. Abramson squeezed his son’s hand under the table gently. “It’s for the best son. Just think you’ll be closer to Grandma and Grandpa and all your cousins.”

“But what about all my friends?”

“Homeschooling isn’t such a bad thing. You’ll just be doing your schoolwork at home. You’ll still get to see your friends for sports and afterschool activities.”  
“What about you Mrs. Samuels?” Ms. Abraham asked..

Jasmine’s mother nodded. “Yes. Homeschooling is something I am considering for Jasmine. Anna is unfortunately not going to finish off the school year at this school. She’s transferring to a boarding school in Brooklyn starting in January. It’s for students in grades 6-12 so she’ll go to high school there too. It’s too much for her to deal with the after math of the shooting. The kids have been very cruel to her and she’s been bullied quite a bit. She doesn’t feel safe anymore.” 

Mr. Peters smiled. “ We’re sorry to see her go. Anna is a very bright girl. I’m sure she’ll do wonderfully.”  
“Mama, am I going to go to private school too?” Jasmine asked.  
“We’re considering it sweetheart.”  
Grace noticed her son had not said a word. “Frederick sweetheart do you have anything to say?”

“Will homeschooling be a temporary thing?”  
Grace nodded. “ We don’t know yet. We’re actually thinking of moving down to Boston after school gets out too. Annie is having a baby and I want to be closer to her. We’ll discuss this at home tonight.”  
Ms. Abraham looked around the table. “ I think you all seem to have pretty common ground about the homeschooling. I can get you the contact information for some of the best tutors in the state.”

“Would you suggest the children see a therapist too? Oliver asked.

Mr. Peters nodded. “I think you all should consider going to group counseling. It will help all your families get through this situation. I know how hard you all have been dealing with issues related to the shooting.”

“That would be fabulous. Thank you!” Grace said.

Later that night at dinner Frederick dove into the conversation right away.

“So are we going to move to Boston?”

Grace shrugged. “To be honest I really would like to. I want to be closer to your aunts and I want to help Annie raise the baby. I hate being so far away from our family.”

Mrs. Pugh smiled. “And I’ll get to see Marlene and Marie more often too.”

“When would we move?” Joanne asked.

“We’re going to homeschool you two for the rest of the year so you can get on you the right track academically. I’m going to call Aunt Jen and Aunt Melissa after dinner and tell them the news so they can get a head start on looking for apartments. Maybe they’ll have a few places to show us when we go down in January to help Annie shop for the nursery. 

“Are we going to private school like Jasmine?” Frederick asked,

“No. We are going to enroll you guys in a middle school in Cambridge. The same middle school that Jacob went to. You’ll love it there.”

“What about your job Mom? You love Northside.”

“I bet I’ll be able to find a job at an elementary or middle school in Cambridge. Who knows I may end up teaching at your school.” Grace said.

“Casey seems upset that he’s moving.” Joanne said.

“I think this will be a big change for all four of you but we think it’s the best thing for you. As Casey’s father said you’ll still get to see your friends outside of school and participate in all your after school activities.” Oliver said.

“ I didn’t know Jasmine’s sister was getting bullied. That makes me sad.” Frederick said. 

Mrs. Pugh nodded. “People can be so cruel sweetheart. They are so inconsiderate to what the Abramsons and Samuels are going through.”


	4. Everything  Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Homeschooling continues, Annie has her baby. Molly and Isabella graduate from College

Throughout the month of November Grace and Oliver worked closely with Joanne and Frederick's teachers to transition their children as smoothly as possible into being home schooled. Frederick was a little resistant but once he found him out that him and Joanne would be doing their classes together with Jasmine and Casey they felt better about it.

Oliver was organized and had kept the contact information for Ms. Wilson the same home school teacher Molly had several years before when she was dealing with her dyslexia diagnosis. Since then she had gotten married and her last name changed to Robertson. Grace was very happy to work with her a second time. She had done such wonderful things to help Molly succeed in school. Homeschooling started the week after Thanksgiving. Ms. Wilson rang the doorbell at the apartment at around 7:45am on Monday morning.

"Hello Mrs. Warbucks. It's so wonderful to work with you again. It's been years! How is Molly doing?"

Grace smiled. "Fantastic! Thanks for asking. She's graduating college in five months."

"My goodness time certainly does fly. I'm very proud of how successful she's become."

"We are too."

"Where are your children?"

"In the kitchen finishing breakfast. Their friends Casey and Jasmine should be arriving shortly."

Mrs. Robertson looked solemn. "I was so shocked to hear about the shooting at the middle school. Is your goal to home school your children for the rest of the year or do you plan to eventually ease their way back into school?"

Grace shook her head. "Our children have been struggling academically as well as emotionally in the after math of the shooting. We are home schooling Frederick Joanne Casey and Jasmine for the rest of the school year. We decided this will be the best way to manage their academic progress so they are on the right track to start 7th grade in the fall."

"What's the plan once June comes? Will you still need my services next fall?"

"You will have to talk to the other parents but as far as my family is concerned we're hoping to move to Boston in June. Our oldest daughter is expecting her first child and we want to live closer to her and the rest of my family."   
Mrs. Robertson grinned broadly. "Please send Annie my warmest congratulations."

"I certainly will."

Grace heard footsteps coming down the hallway from the kitchen. Joanne and Frederick entered the front hall.

"Kids, this is Mrs. Robertson, your home school teacher. She'll be coming every day from 8- 2:45. "

"Frederick and Joanne, it's so very nice to meet you. Let's wait for your friends to get here and then we will get started with today's lessons."

Joanne and Frederick nodded. 

At the end of the week Grace knocked on the twins' bedroom door at bedtime

"How was the first week of homeschooling kids?"

"Fine. We really miss our friends at school though." Frederick said. Joanne nodded her head in agreement.

"Mama are we doing this until the end of the year or do you think we'll be able to go back to school?" Joanne asked.

“It depends on how hard you work and if your grades go up. We'll consider meeting with your teachers again in March."

Frederick shrugged. “You know.. This could be a good thing for us. Are we definitely moving to Boston this summer?"

Grace nodded. "That's the plan darling. Your aunts are helping me do research on apartments. Would you like to go visit the middle school that Jacob used to go to in the spring?"  
"Yes." Frederick and Joanne chorused  
"Great. We'll plan something around when Annie is going to have the baby. We'll spend a whole week in Massachusetts that week."

On Christmas Eve the Warbucks Clan went to New Jersey to have dinner at Billy and Phyllis Pugh's house. When the front door opened Harry greeted his cousins with a high five.   
"Hey Guys! Marie is so excited to see you. Hi Grandma! Hi Uncle Oliver. Hi Aunt Grace! Merry Christmas! "  
Mrs. Pugh kissed her grandson on the top of the head. " Merry Christmas Harry. You've grown up into a fine young man."

Harry Pugh was tall for his age. At 14 he was almost as tall as his father. Mrs. Pugh could hardly believe her grandson was a freshmen in high school and that her granddaughter would be graduating college the following year.

"Hi Mom!" Annie smiled at her mother.

Grace kissed her daughter on the top of the head. "Merry Christmas sweetheart! We have some presents for you. I'll put them under the tree."

"Annie did you find out if you're having a boy or a girl yet?" Frederick asked.

Hector smiled. "We're having a boy."

"Have you decided on a name yet?"

"You guys can help us choose one. We have a few we're deciding between."  
Joanne grinned at her brother in law “Okay." 

Dinner started at 3:15. Grace sat in between Annie and Molly at the table. She squeezed their hands gently.  
"My beautiful girls, you're everything to me." She whispered.  
Annie and Molly kissed their mother softly on the cheek “We love you Mama." Molly said.  
"So how is the homeschooling going?" Billy sasked.

Frederick smiled. "Pretty good Uncle Billy. At first it was a rough transition but we're pretty well adjusted now."

"That's great to hear."  
"Molly Mrs. Robertson asked about you." Grace said

Molly looked surprised. "Really? What did she say?"  
"She just asked me how you were doing. I said you're graduating college soon. She's very proud of your accomplishments sweetheart. You’ve come a long way."  
Molly smiled. "I couldn't be prouder of the person I turned into. Once I get my degree I'm looking for a teaching job in Cambridge right away. Better to get a head start on the positions for next fall."

Oliver smiled. "I like that attitude sweetheart. Did we tell you we're moving to Massachusetts too?"

Annie's face lit up. "Really? That's great! You guys will be closer once the baby is born. I miss having you guys live near me."

Grace smiled. "We all miss you too sweetheart. It's different not having you and your sister at home."

"Are you moving to Cambridge too?" Molly asked.

"We're planning to. Aunt Jen and Aunt Melissa are going apartment hunting with me in February. We're staying at Aunt Jen's on Presidents Day Weekend."

"This is such great news! Now our family will be together for good!" Annie said excitedly.

Grace smiled at her nephew. "Harry how is freshmen year of high school?"

Harry swallowed a bite of mashed potato. "So far so good Aunt Grace. I played defense on the JV soccer team this year. We were undefeated this season and made it to the quarterfinals in the playoffs."  
"Which classes do you like the best?" Joanne asked  
"Science and Band. I'm thinking of auditioning for Jazz band in the spring." 

"How have your friends been dealing with the transition to homeschooling?" Molly asked Joanne.

"Fine. I think the home schooling is only going to last until the end of the year for everyone.. Jasmine's sister is going to private school in Brooklyn. She might go to the same school next year but that’s not definite yet. If not she’ll probably be homeschooled next year and hopefully she’ll graduate 8th grade with me.”

"What are they doing to curb the violence?" Phyllis Pugh asked.  
"There's looking to have at least two police officers on campus every day starting after Christmas. They'll have drug sniffing dogs with them so that way the drug dealing can stop."  
"Is Casey's brother going to be in the state mental hospital for the rest of the year?"  
Grace nodded. "Yes. He's getting tutored there. From that point forward the Abramsons aren't sure what's going to happen next. Casey's grandparents live in Framingham so the Abramsons will be moving there as soon as school lets out for the year."

"Is Darryl considered a danger to the community?" Billy asked.

Oliver nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately, yes. Jasmine's parents have a restraining order against him and he's not allowed with in 50 feet of their house or the school."

"What a shame." Phyllis said.

"It's very tragic that this had to happen but it bought our school community closer together. There's been great support from the families of Casey and Jasmine's friends in the wake of the tragedy." Grace said.

Annie Hector and Molly drove back down to Brighton that evening. On the car ride home Molly and her sister talked about the school shooting. Molly was spending the night at Annie’s and they were planning on starting on shopping for the nursery two days later. Grace would meet them in Boston with Joanne and Mrs. Pugh.

"I can't even imagine anything like that happening when I was in school. It's insane." Molly said 

Hector shook his head. “I’m still in shock by all of that. I feel really bad for Frederick and Joanne's friends. Do you guys know them?"

"Yeah we do. We've known them since they were in 1st grade. I knew Darryl back then too. I can't believe he ended up being a violent person. That's not the same person I remember at all." Annie shuddered.  
Hector squeezed his wife's hand. “Some things are just so hard to picture sweetheart. I suppose some questions are meant to be unanswered."

"I feel so bad for Casey Jasmine and Anna." Molly said.

"So do I." Annie said.

 

Winter seemed to go by in a blur. Things were busy for the Warbucks family between preparing for the arrival of Annie's baby and Molly's college graduation. In February Jennifer threw a baby shower for Annie at her apartment. All of Annie's cousins were there as well as her friends from the orphanage.

Annie had tears in her eyes. "We are so blessed to have such amazing family and friends. We can't wait to welcome Victor into the world and know he will be so very loved by everyone here."

Grace kissed her daughter's forehead. "We love you so much honey." 

While Grace was in Boston for the baby shower Melissa and Jennifer helped her look for an apartment and also took her on a tour of the middle school that Joanne and Frederick would be attending in the fall. She was happy to learn that there were openings for 4th grade teachers at the local elementary school for the upcoming school year and put in an application right away.

After February vacation Mrs. Robertson had a meeting with Grace and Oliver, the Abramsons. Jasmine had started private school in Brooklyn in early January and was no long participating in homeschooling. 

"Your children have taken great strides in academic improvement in the past couple of months. I have been in touch with their teachers at the middle school and they are quite impressed with their progress."

Oliver grinned broadly. "This is wonderful news. Do you think it will be alright to send them back to school?"

"Yes. Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Abraham can't wait to have back in their classrooms."

"How soon can they go back?" Mrs. Abramson asked.

"As soon as next week.. maybe the week after."

Grace smiled. "Excellent! The kids will be extremely delighted. They've really missed being in a classroom setting."

 

At dinner that night Oliver smiled from ear to ear at his children.

"Kids, Ms Wilson said that you've made wonderful improvements on your school work. She's been in touch with your teachers. They're impressed with the progress that you've made."

Joanne and Frederick exchanged a glance. "Does this mean we can go back to school?" Joanne asked.

"Only if safety is no longer a huge concern." Grace said.

"We definitely miss our friends. It hasn't been the same without them." Frederick said.

"How soon can we go back?"

"How does Monday sound to you?" Oliver asked.  
Joanne broke into a wide grin, “Great! We can't wait."

"Are Casey and Jasmine going back to school too?" Joanne asked.  
Grace and Oliver exchanged a glance. Grace let out a sigh.

"Unfortunately no. Casey will be continuing with home schooling until the end of the year. Jasmine's parents have decided to send her to the private school in Brooklyn Anna is going to."

Joanne's smile disappeared and tears welled in her eyes. "I'll never see her again?" 

Grace got up from her chair and walked over to where her daughter was sitting and a put a comforting arm around her.

"Brooklyn is only 20 minutes from here. We can go see Jasmine on the weekends or she can sleep over here whenever you want."  
"That won't be the same." Joanne got up from the table and ran from the room.

"Oh dear." Mrs. Pugh said.

"I'll go talk to her." Grace said.

Grace went upstairs to Joanne and Frederick's room and tapped on the door.

"Jo bear, Can I come in?"

She was answered by convulsing sobs.

Grace let herself softly into the room. Joanne's face was buried in her pillow.

"What's got you so upset angel?" Grace rubbed her daughter’s back to try to calm her down.

"Why did Jasmine have to go private school? She didn't even tell that she made a definite decision on wanting to go.”

 

"Come to Mama Sweetheart." Grace whispered.

Joanne looked up and outstretched her arms. Grace took her youngest daughter into her arms as if she were a little girl again. She kissed her forehead softly.

"The atmosphere at school was not very good. You know how Anna was being bullied?"  
Joanne nodded.  
"Well as it turns out Joanne was being bullied too. She was very lonely and other than you and your other friends no one was being nice to her. People were teasing her because Anna dated Darryl. Mrs. Samuels took Anna and Jasmine out of school because she felt it was best for them."  
“When did she start school?"   
"School started for them the 2nd week of January. This private school is best known for their rigorous college prep program. Jasmine's parents felt their daughters wouldn't be academically challenged enough at Eleanor Roosevelt High School. That's the reason they moved."  
“I wish Jasmine could have at least finished middle school with me. I would have helped stand up to those stupid bullies."   
"You're a good friend darling. The two of you will definitely stay in contact. I have their new address and also Jasmine's address at school if you want to send her letters directly there."  
"If it's a boarding school why couldn't Mr. and Mrs. Samuels just stay here in Queens? Jasmine and Anna could have taken the subway to school."  
"They felt it was better to move. The police actually searched their house. Darryl hid some drugs under Anna's bed. Jasmine was scared out of her mind the day the police over."  
"Darryl's a moron. He really screwed things up for everyone." Joanne muttered.

Grace nodded. "He did. Hopefully the therapy he's getting at the state mental hospital is helping him."

"How long will he be there for?"

"Until the Abramsons move in June. After that he'll be transferred to a mental health facility in Boston. He'll probably be released by late July or early August. Then he'll be under house arrest." 

"What's that mean?

"He won't be allowed the house or have contact with people. He'll live with his grandparents in Framingham with the rest of his family."

"He won't be able to go back to school?"

Grace shook her head. "His parents plan on home schooling him until he graduates from high school. After that I am not sure what will happen."

"Did they ever find out how he got the gun that he bought to school? I didn't think the Abramsons kept guns in their house."

“They don't. They've never owned any guns. The police said someone with a hunting licensee went to a gun show in the summer. He snuck into the person’s house and stole the gun."

"Did the man he stole it from ever get it back?"  
Grace nodded. "He was called to the police station the day after the shooting to get it back."  
"Did he ever steal money from Jasmine's family?"  
Grace nodded her head sadly. “Yes. He also hit Anna on several occasions. That's why Mr. Samuels ordered a restraining order against him."   
"What makes him so violent?"

Grace shrugged. "His parents think it had something to do with the medication he was on for his schizophrenia. He seemed to be better once the doctors adjusted his dosage." 

"Will I get to see Jasmine again before we leave for Boston in June Mama?"

Grace grinned. "Of course. There'll be plenty of time for you guys to see each other. Once we move into our new house we'll have her family and Casey's family over for dinner."  
Joanne smiled through her tears “Okay."  
"Do you feel better now honey?"  
Joanne nodded. “I love you Mama."  
"Joanne Rachel, I love you to the moon and back my sweetest girl." Grace kissed her daughter's forehead. "Are you ready to come back downstairs now and finish your dinner?"  
Joanne nodded.  
"Come on, let's go."   
Grace took her daughter by the hand and they walked back to the dining room together.

Annie’s baby was due around April 15th. Grace went down to Cambridge to spend some time at her sister’s place. At 8:30 am on April 15th a call from the hospital came to the apartment. It was Hector

“Grace, Annie’s in labor. Her water broke about an hour ago.”  
Grace felt a rush of emotion wash over her.. joy and nervousness all rolled into one. “We’ll be right down.” She said.

Grace, Jennifer, Kathryn and Melissa drove down to the hospital. Jennifer squeezed her sister’s hand.  
“I’m so excited for you Gracie.”

“I’m excited too but also nervous. What happens if something happens to the baby during the delivery?”

Melissa smiled. “Gracie, you always seem to get yourself worked up with nerves for no reason at all. Everything will be fine.”

When they arrived at the hospital Hector met them in the waiting room. He hugged Grace, Jennifer, Kathryn and Melissa.

“Is everything all right?” Grace asked

“I hope so. I haven’t heard any news from the doctors yet. Annie’s in room 244. Let’s head down there.”

The doctor met everyone at the door to Annie’s room.

“How is she doing doctor?” Hector asked.

The doctor looked a little nervous. “There’s been a bit of a complication with the delivery. We’re not sure what the problem is but we’re hoping to get on the right track soon.”  
Grace went white. “My baby.” She whispered.  
“She’ll be fine Gracie. The baby will be fine too.” Jennifer consoled.

“Can we see her?”

“Go right ahead.”  
Hector led the way into Annie’s room. Annie looked very nervous and was sweating profusely.

“Mama, something might be wrong with Victor.”

This was the first time that Annie had ever called her Mama. Grace was so used to hearing her oldest daughter call her Mom.”

Grace wiped a cold cloth across Annie’s forehead. “Shhhh,, don’t worry my sweet girl. Everything will be fine.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too Annie.”

“The doctor pulled Grace aside.

“Mrs. Warbucks I think your daughter will have to have a c- section. We may have trouble delivering this baby normally.”

“What’s the problem?”

“We’re still not sure.”  
Two hours later Victor was delivered by C-section. 6 pounds and 8 ounces.  
Grace’s breath caught in her throat. “He’s beautiful sweetheart.”  
Hector smiled proudly down at his wife and son. “Our little boy is a sight to be seen.” He kissed Annie’s forehead softly. “I love both of you so much.”  
“We love you too baby.” Annie whispered.   
The doctor pulled Grace aside again.  
“Is there a problem Doctor?”  
“I’m afraid so Mrs. Warbucks.  
“What it could be? Victor looks perfectly healthy.”  
The doctor shook his head. “He isn’t. Not completely.”  
Grace suddenly felt dizzy. “What’s wrong with my grandchild?”

“One of his lungs did not completely form. He may have some breathing problems. We’ll have to run some tests on him. He won’t be able to go home for a couple days.”

“My daughter will be devastated.” 

Hector caught Grace’s glance from across the room.

“What’s the matter Grace? Can I get you some water?”  
Grace nodded. 

“Mr. Simon your son may have to stay a few extra days to get some tests done.” The doctor said.  
“Nurse, get my mother in law some water please.” Hector instructed. He turned to face the doctor. “What’s wrong with my son?  
“One of Victor’s lungs didn’t properly develop. He may have some breathing problems. They need to run some tests to determine what exactly he has.” Grace answered and then she started to cry.

Hector pulled Grace to her feet and wrapped her in his arms. “Please don’t cry Grace. Everything will be all right.”

“Oh Hector I hope so.” The nurse returned with a glass of water for Grace and she took a sip.

Annie was absolutely devastated when she found out Victor would not be going home with her.   
“Doctor, is there any way I will be able to get a private room so I can be here when my baby gets out of his tests?”

The doctor shook his head. “I’m afraid not Mrs. Simon. Just go home and relax. You can come back tomorrow and see your son.”

After going back to Cambridge to gather her things Melissa’s husband Alex drove Grace to Annie’s apartment in Brighton. Grace wanted to spend as much time with her daughter as she could. 

Hector opened the door. “Annie’s upstairs in the nursery.”

Grace found this odd. She went upstairs. The nursery was dark. Annie was sitting in the rocking chair.   
Grace clicked on the light and walked over to where her daughter was sitting. She took Annie’s hand gently.  
“Sweetheart, Mama’s here.”  
Annie stood up. “I want you to hold me.” She whispered.

Grace sat down in the rocking chair and pulled Annie into her lap. No matter how old she was Annie would always be her little girl.

“I don’t get how Victor could be sick. He looked fine when he came out of me.”  
Grace rubbed her hand up and down her daughter’s back. “The one thing that all members of our family have in common is that we’re all fighters. I’m sure things will be fine Annie.”

“You really think so?”  
Grace smiled “I know so. That little boy will be home in your arms in the next couple days.”  
“Remember that song I used to sing all the time when I was younger?”

Grace nodded.  
“Will you sing it to me?”

“When you’re stuck with a day that’s grey and lonely  
You just stick out your chin and grin and say  
They sun’ll come out tomorrow  
You just gotta hang on til tomorrow  
Come what may  
Tomorrow tomorrow I love ya tomorrow you’re only a day away.”

Grace rocked back and forth in the rocking chair gently stroking Annie’s curls out of her eyes. Annie reached up and wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck.

“I love you Mama.”

“You’re everything to me Angel. I love you so much. Victor will be back in your arms in no time. Don’t you worry about a thing.” Grace kissed Annie’s forehead softly.

Annie closed her eyes and fell asleep in Grace’s arms for the first time in many years.

About a month later the Warbucks and Farrell families were up at SUNY Buffalo for Molly and Isabella’s graduation. It was the first time Isabella and Molly would meet Victor. Molly could not wait to meet her nephew.

Anne Warbucks squeezed Grace’s hand tightly. “Our little girls are all grown up Grace.”

Grace smiled but tears were starting to form at the corners of her eyes. “I can barely believe it. It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that we had the huge blow out party for their high school graduation. Soon they’ll be living on their own.”

“Your family is moving to Boston next month right?”

Grace nodded. “Yes. I just got news I got a job at an elementary school in Cambridge for next fall. Once I finish work for the year we’re all set to move into an apartment in the same building as my sister Jen.”

Anne smiled. “As it turns out Isabella got a coaching job right out of her internship this spring. She’ll be moving to Allston in a couple of weeks.”  
Grace grinned. “Molly is applying for teaching jobs in Massachusetts as well. I’m so happy we’ll all be living close to each other.  
Anne nodded. “Eli is going to college at Holy Cross next year. It looks like this summer we’ll be selling our house too. How have Joanne and Frederick been dealing with the news of moving?”

Grace smiled. “This has been a rough year for them because of the shooting at the middle school. They’re looking forward to starting over fresh in the fall.”

“Victor is an absolute doll. You must be so proud.”

Grace smiled. “We’re very proud. He had a few struggles right after birth and I have a feeling that down the line he may have medical problems but Annie and Hector are ready for anything.”

“I love you Grace.” Anne squeezed her sister in law’s hand tightly.

“I love you too Anne.”

With in a week after graduation Molly and Isabella were preparing to move into their apartment in Allston.

“I can’t even believe that we graduated college. Four years flew by too quickly for me.”

Isabella nodded in agreement. I know. I am so glad we got jobs right after graduation. It’s going to be so great that our families are going to be so close together now.”

Molly grinned. “I’m so happy my parents are moving to Boston. It will be great to have everyone living in this area. Joanne and Frederick seem to be pretty excited too after the hellish year they’ve had with dealing with the school shooting.”

“What happened to their friends Casey and Jasmine?”

“Casey’s family is actually moving in with his grandparents in a few weeks. They live in Framingham so Frederick will still get to see Casey. Jasmine and her sister go to private school in Brooklyn. I’m beginning to suspect that her parents might look into private schools in this area so Jasmine and Joanne can go to high school in the same state.”

“So there’s a happy ending for everyone then?”

Molly shrugged. “ Well we’re not sure what’s going to happen to Darryl but yes mostly everyone has a happy ending.


	5. Starting  Over Fresh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Warbucks Family moves to Cambridge.

After the graduation the Warbucks family prepared to move to their new apartment in Cambridge. Their new apartment was four doors down the hall from Jennifer’s and Melissa’s apartment building was the next street over. Grace was so glad to finally be living closer to her family. The Abramsons only lived 45 minutes away in Framingham with Valerie’s parents so Frederick and Casey saw each other frequently throughout the summer. Joanne was a little bit disheartened about moving and Jasmine going to private school in Brooklyn.

Joanne and Frederick had their own rooms in their new apartment. Isabella and Molly came over one day to help Joanne set up her room.

“So Jo, are you excited about starting 7th grade?” her sister asked

Joanne shrugged. “I guess so. I really miss Jasmine though. It won’t be the same going to different schools this year.”

Molly nodded. “I know how that feels. I felt the same way when we first moved to Queens but once school started I made new friends right away. You will too.”

“What if no one likes me?”  
Isabella put an arm around her cousin’s shoulder. “You are the sweetest girl I know Joanne. You shouldn’t have any problem at all making new friends. The best advice I can give to you in join a bunch of club or maybe a sports team. That’s the best way to meet new people.”

“I love you guys so much. You’re my best friends.” Joanne whispered.  
Molly kissed her sister’s forehead gently. “We love you too Jo. We’re always her for you no matter what.”


	6. The News That Changed Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Warbucks family gets a shock to their system when they find out that Darryl Abramson commits suicide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: I decided that Chapter 4 was way too long and it needed to be split up in to two separate chapters. In this chapter Darryl will commit suicide. I have never known anyone personally who has committed suicide so it has always been hard for me to write about. I try to be extra sensitive to people I know who have either attempted suicide or know people who have attempted commit or have committed suicide. Be please very gentle with your crictism of this particular chapter as this has been an ongoing struggle for me over the past several years. Thanks. I own no rights to characters from Annie.

School started on September 8th. Frederick and Joanne got adjusted to their new school easily and Joanne realized that her sister and cousin were right about making new friends. She joined the school newspaper and the intramural soccer team. Grace was so happy that her kids were well adjusted to starting at a new school.

The last week of September Grace was planning a birthday party for Joanne and Frederick's 12th birthday. It was hard to believe that her youngest children were going to be teenagers in a year. Where had the time gone since she held them in her arms as newborns? On Tuesday when Grace got home from work the phone rang. She was met with hysterical crying on the other end of the line.

"Hello."

The crying slowed. "Mrs. Warbucks, it's Megan"

Grace was surprised to hear Casey's younger sister so upset. "Hi sweetheart. Are you alright?"

"It's about my brother Darryl..:"

Grace's heart did a somersault in her chest. "Is everything okay?"

"No." Megan whispered and started to cry again.

Grace had the worst feeling in the world she did not want to hear what was coming next. She heard the phone being wrestled away from Megan. "Go take your sister to the bathroom and get her a tissue." She heard Valerie Abramson say to Casey.

"Hi Grace it's Valerie."

"Valerie, is everything alright?"

"We're handling this shock the best way we can."

"What happened?"

"Well Darryl didn't come down for home school classes this morning. He wasn't sick yesterday so we were a bit concerned. We thought he might be sleeping but he wasn't in his bed."

"Did he run away?"

The next thing that Valerie said took Grace by complete surprise.

"No Grace. He committed suicide."

Grace was silent.

"Are you still there Grace?"

Grace swallowed. "Yes Valerie, I'm still here. What led up to him committing suicide?"

"No one knows. He hasn't been really up front about being depressed so this came as shock to all of us."

"Did he leave a note?"

"Yes. It was short. It said I'm sorry I caused you all so much pain. I think things would be better this way. I love you."

"He didn't shoot himself did he?"

"No. He took some rope and hung himself by a tree branch in the park. A jogger found him around 8:15am."

"How is Casey feeling about all this?"

"He and Megan have not been doing very well. They don't understand why their brother would take his own life."

"Do you suspect this had anything to do with the aftermath of the shooting?"

"We're guessing that it might have. There's been so much build up over the past several months from that. I don't think his hospitalization at the mental hospital really helped a lot either. I think he felt he was burdening us with everything."

"Can we help you guys in anyway?"

"Well I know Frederick and Joanne's party is this weekend. Unfortunately Casey won't be able to go. We have so much to do with planning the funeral. He was looking so forward to going on Saturday. We're sorry for the last minute change in plans. Megan doesn't really understand what's going on though. Would you mind having her sleep over on Friday night while Casey Rich and I do stuff for the funeral? We'll pick her up around 9:00 am Saturday morning."

"Sure no problem. When will the services be?"

"Monday evening is the wake and Tuesday morning is the funeral."

"Do you need our help in any way with perpetrations for the services?"

Grace could see her friend smiling through the phone. "Casey always raves about your mother's chocolate chip cookies. Do you think you could have her make some for the reception at our house after the wake?"

"Certainly! We can also make meals for you guys next week if you'd like. Just let us know what you need."

"Could you also call Erica too and let her know what happened?"

"Sure."

"Thanks Grace, We're so lucky to have friends like you."

"We love you all so much."

"We love you too."

Grace hung up the phone and then put her head on the table and burst into tears. At that moment Mrs. Pugh walked into the kitchen to start cooking dinner.

"Gracie Liz, whatever is wrong?

"That was Valerie Abramson on the phone. She just told me the most horrible news."

"What is it?"

"Her son Darryl committed suicide this morning."

Mrs. Pugh's jaw dropped in shock. "That can't be true! I thought he was doing so well."

Grace continued to sob.

"Come here baby girl."

Mrs. Pugh took her surrogate daughter by the hand and then pulled her into the tender embrace Grace had grown to love.

"Do they know what led up to this?"

Grace shook her head. "No, not exactly. They are guessing it has a lot to do with the aftermath of the shooting. He must felt a lot of guilt for what happened last year."

"I feel so terrible for that family. They've already had such a rough time within the past year. Can we do anything to help them?"

"Casey has requested a batch of your chocolate chip cookies for the reception after the wake."

Mrs. Pugh smiled "I'd be happy to make two dozen and also make whatever favorite meals the family may like."

"I can't even imagine what Valerie and Rich must be going through." Grace said.

"Neither can I sweetheart. Suicide is such a horrible thing and so difficult to understand."

"I love you." Grace whispered

"I love you too Gracie Liz."

During dinner Joanne noticed her mother had been crying.

"Mama why are you upset?"

Grace swallowed her potatoes. "Kids, we're having a guest stay with us Friday night."

"Who?"

"Casey's sister,"

"She's never stayed over before," Frederick said

"What's the reason?" Joanne asked

Mrs. Pugh and Grace exchanged a look.

"Casey's brother Darryl is no longer with us." Mrs. Pugh said

"What?!" Frederick said.

Grace swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "Darryl committed suicide this morning. His body was found in the park hanging from a tree. Megan is staying with us while her parents and Casey prepare for the funeral."

Oliver rubbed his hands up and down Grace's back.

"Why would he do something like that? His family was trying to help him deal with his problems." Frederick said.

Mrs. Pugh sighed. "My sweet boy, there has been so much tension in that household ever since the shooting last year. Mrs. Abramson suggests that Darryl was never forthcoming about his emotions after the shooting. He could have been suffering from depression in addition to his Paranoid Schizophrenia. His note simply said "I never meant to cause anyone pain. I'm sorry."

"Was he really angry about breaking up with Anna?" Joanne asked

"Sweetheart, there's so much more to it than that. I think when he was in the mental hospital and in rehab he realized how much his actions truly affected other people including his own family." Grace said.

"He didn't realize that people were trying to help him and that there were so many people that cared about him?" Frederick said.

Oliver nodded solemnly. "That appears to be the case son."

"When is the funeral?" Joanne asked.

"Tuesday morning at 9am. You two will go to school late that day." Grace said.

On Friday evening around 6:15pm the doorbell rang. Valerie Abramson stood on the front step holding her daughter's hand.

"Thanks for watching her Grace. It's a big help"

Grace smiled. "No worries." She took Megan's hand and gave it a squeeze. "We're going to have a fun night tonight Megan. Joanne and I picked out some great movies we can watch."

Megan nodded but didn't say anything

"Be good for Mr. & Mrs. Warbucks sweetheart. Daddy will pick you up tomorrow morning at 9."

"Okay Mommy. I love you."

Mrs. Abramson squeezed her daughter's hand tightly. "I love you too Megan."

Grace closed the door behind Valerie. "Let's go upstairs and put your overnight bag in Joanne's room. You'll be sleeping with her tonight."

"Okay."

Once Megan set her bag on the floor of Joanne's room she threw herself down on Joanne's bed and buried her face in a pillow. Gut wrenching sobs escaped from her small body.

Grace sat down on the bed next to her and rubbed her back comfortingly. "Do you want to talk to Mrs. Warbucks?"

Megan nodded.

"Come here Megan."

Megan crawled into Grace's lap

"Mrs. Warbucks, I hate seeing Mommy Daddy and Casey so sad. I don't know what to do to make them feel better."

"This has certainly been a rough year for your entire family hasn't it?"

Megan nodded. "Yeah. I'm mad at Darryl."

"What makes you the most upset darling?"

"Well, when he was alive I hated how he'd hit Mommy. It was so scary. I didn't like being in that house with him at all."

Grace nodded. "Did you understand that it was in your best interest that he was in the mental hospital?"

Megan shook her head. "I still don't understand why they sent him to live away. Couldn't the doctors in Queens have helped him?"

Grace shook her head. "Darryl had a disease called Paranoid Schizophrenia; do you know what that is?

"No."

"Well one symptom is that he shows lack of feeling or emotion. Your parents didn't seem to think she showed any type of emotion after the shooting that he could have potentially killed people by bringing the gun to school. He also had a lot of hallucinations."

"What's that mean?"

"It means he was seeing things or hearing voices that weren't there."

"Did the voices in his head tell him to bring the gun to school and shoot all those people?"

Grace shrugged. "I really don't know… it's quite possible."

"I'm mad at him for shooting people too Mrs. Warbucks and I'm mad at those nasty kids who got him into marijuana."

Grace nodded. "I'm sure the drug addiction didn't help too much either.

Megan's tears continued to fall down her cheeks.

"He was so angry a lot of the time last summer. He hit Anna sometimes too. I saw him. I had to hide in my room because I was so afraid he was going to hit me too."

Grace's jaw dropped. "Did you ever tell your parents?"

Megan shook her head. "I was too afraid that he might hurt me if I ratted him out."

"Oh darling, in a situation like that you shouldn't be afraid of being a tattle tale."

"Mommy and Daddy thought Darryl and Anna were too young to date."

Grace nodded. "Yes they were. Was your brother violent to Anna very often or just that one time when he was over your house?"

Megan shrugged. "I wouldn't know. After seeing that incident I tried to stay clear of observing him when he was very angry."

Megan buried her face into Grace's shoulder.

"There there my sweet little girl please don't cry."

"Mommy and Daddy just wanted to help Darryl get better. Why did he have to kill himself?"

"No one really understands that."

"Does this mean he didn't love us?"

Grace's heart broke. "No sweetheart, your brother loved all of you very much. He knew you loved him too."

"Did he realize this was going to hurt us more?"

Grace shrugged. "I honestly don't have an answer to that."

Grace held Megan for 20 minutes and let her cry.

"I love you Mrs. Warbucks. You're like a second mom to me and Casey."

"We love you too darling." Grace kissed Megan's forehead softly.

"Can we go watch the movie now?"

Grace smiled. "Of course. Joanne is waiting for us downstairs."

After Grace tucked Joanne and Megan into bed she knocked on Mrs. Pugh's door.

"Come in Gracie Liz/"

Mrs. Pugh was reading a book. She immediately noticed that Grace looked upset and patted the bed next to her.

"Come here my dear let's chat.

Grace climbed into bed next to her surrogate mother and curled into her side. Mrs. Pugh rubbed her back comfortingly.

"What's on your mind?"

Grace looked at the older woman. "Oh Mama, Megan and I talked for about 25 minutes after Valerie dropped her off. My heart is broken in half for her."

"She's been taking the suicide the roughest?"

Grace nodded. "She said she wishes that her family wasn't so sad and she could make her brother and parents feel better. I think she's too young to even realize how beyond her control this situation really is."

"Does she think her brother didn't love her?"

Grace nodded. "That was the most heartbreaking thing for me to hear. I told her that her brother loved her and her family very much even though he may have been very angry."

"Does she have a hard time understanding why Darryl was sent away to the mental hospital?"

Grace nodded. "I told her that her parents did that out of concern for the safety of her and Casey. Darryl couldn't have stayed in that house. Megan told me that she once saw Darryl hit Anna and that she was very afraid that she could get hurt."

Mrs. Pugh's jaw dropped. "Did she ever tell her parents that she saw her brother hit Anna?"

Grace shook her head. "No. She told me she was far too afraid of her brother hitting her."

Mrs. Pugh shook her head. "This is such a shame. I have a feeling that Casey and Megan will need years of therapy to deal with the post traumatic stress of dealing with how violent their brother was."

Grace nodded. "That wouldn't surprise me very much at all. Casey has been going to a counselor ever since after the shooting."

Grace's body started to shake with sobs.

"Baby girl please don't cry. We'll all get through this. It will take some time but all of us will eventually heal." Mrs. Pugh kissed Grace's forehead as she traced the tracks of her surrogate daughter's tears with the tips of her fingers.

"I wish this never happened in the first place. It has changed our children's lives in unspeakable ways. Jo and Freddie said they don't even want to go back to Queens to visit their friends and set foot in that school. They would feel so much safer if their friends came to visit them here."

"Well maybe tomorrow at their birthday party you can talk to the other parents and see if they wouldn't minding visiting here once every two months. I'm sure that Joanne and Frederick would love to have their friends sleep over here."

Grace nodded. "That's not a bad idea. I think the pain is still too great for everyone in that school. I wouldn't be surprised if this year a lot more people end up moving away."

"Is safety still a huge concern for most people?"

Grace nodded. " Sadly yes. Not all of Darryl's groupies were arrested so there have been a few incidents in the past couple weeks where shootings have happened. They are working on getting more than one full time police officer at the school. After the shooting they only had a part time officer on patrol but I think at this point it would be sensible to get a full time officer or more than one officer."

Mrs. Pugh continued to rub Grace's back and kissed her forehead once again.

"My sweetest angel Gracie Liz, I love you so much." Mrs. Pugh whispered.

"I love you too Mama." Grace kissed her surrogate mother softly on the cheek and snuggled deep into her chest drifting off into a deep sleep.

Rich Abramson came to pick up Megan around 9:15 the next morning.

"Thanks again for taking care of her last night Grace."

Grace smiled. "We enjoyed having her over. She's welcome anytime. Joanne loves having another girl in the house"

"Were you a good girl for Mr. and Mrs. Warbucks sweetheart?"

Megan nodded. "Yeah Daddy. We watched movies and gave each other manicures and pedicures. I can't wait to sleep over here again! "

"Go up and get your bags."

"Okay!" Megan ran upstairs to Joanne's room."

Once Grace and Rich were alone Grace took notice of her friend's demeanor.

"This couldn't have been the easiest past couple of days for you." Grace said.

Rich nodded. "It certainly hasn't been. Casey seems to be slipping back into the way his academic ways were after the shooting. I think we sent him back to school too soon. We may need to home school him for a bit longer."

"You know Megan and I had quite the talk last night." Grace said.

Rich Abramson looked at his friend curiously. "Really? What did she say? She hasn't said a word to either of us since this all happened on Tuesday."

"She said that she hates seeing you all so upset and wishes she could make you all feel better... take your pain away? Do you know what I mean?"

"I certainly do. She's been taking this the roughest I think. She's so young and she didn't really understand a lot about what Darryl's motives were for shooting those people last year."

"She told me she feels like Darryl didn't love you all because he was so angry and violent all the time."

. "Casey feels the same exact way. We've been trying hard to convince them that Darryl loved all of us despite his violent behavior but they seem to have a hard time believing that."

Grace pulled her friend into a tight hug. "We love you all very much Rich. We're always here for you whatever you need."

Rich Abramson placed a soft kiss on Grace's cheek. "We love you too Grace. You've always been such wonderful friends to us. We're blessed to have you in our lives."

Megan appeared in the hallway a minute later with her overnight bag.

"Ready to go princess? " her father asked.

Megan nodded and then reached over to give Grace a hug.

"Thanks again for having me over Mrs. Warbucks! Can I come over again soon?"

Grace smiled. "Of course sweetheart. You're welcome anytime."

Frederick and Joanne's birthday party started at around 3:30pm. The guest list mostly consisted of Joanne and Frederick's friends from school. A few of their friends from Queens were also there. They watched movies and played games. While they were watching movies Grace decided to jump at this opportunity to talk about the atmosphere at the middle school in Queens.

Melissa Andrews the mother of Joanne's friend Erin from Queens grimaced.

"You took Freddie and Jo out at such a great time Grace. Things have only gotten worse since you guys left."

Another mother Jane Richards nodded her head in agreement. "Sam says he doesn't want to be at the school anymore. We're looking into either home schooling him or transferring to the private school in Brooklyn that Jasmine and Anna Samuels go to."

"How have things gotten worse?"

"Many more drug busts. Most of Darryl's friends are still suspended but the ones who are not keep bringing guns to school and hitting people up for drug money."

"There are still more of Darryl's friends in the middle school?" Grace was surprised.

Jane nodded. "Yes. Darryl had friends in both 7th and 8th grade so the kids who were in 7th grade last year are in 8th grade now."

"Are there police officers in the school now?"

A third parent named Anne Harrison nodded. "We have a school resource officer who works full time and also Anna Samuels 's uncle is working at the school on a part time basis."

"You guys haven't heard the latest on Darryl Abramson have you?" Grace asked.

Melissa nodded. "Yeah. Erica Samuels called us on Wednesday to let us know. What a tragedy."

"My heart is just broken for Casey and Megan." Jane said.

Grace nodded. "Mine is too."

"I heard that they're going to start a scholarship fund in town to support the Abramsons." Anne said.

Grace's heart leapt with joy. "Really? That's wonderful news! I will have to tell Valerie that when I see her at the services on Monday."

"Please pass our condolences on to Rich and Val Grace. We're sorry we can't make it to the funeral." Melissa said.

"I certainly will."

Tuesday morning the Warbucks family was up at 7:45am to get ready to go to the services. Grace noticed that Joanne was very quiet.

"Are you alright darling?"

Joanne shook her head.

Grace opened her arms. "Come to Mama Jo Bear."

Joanne fell into her mother's embrace weeping.

"Why did this have to happen Mama?"

Grace shrugged. "I really don't know."

"The other night when Megan slept over she was really upset. She cried herself to sleep you know."

Grace nodded. "Casey and Megan have had things really rough. Mr. Abramson said that they have had a hard time understanding the suicide. They really miss their brother."

"I'm still angry about it. I still don't think Darryl realized how much people cared about him."

Grace squeezed her daughter's hand tightly. "Honey, Darryl loved his family very much. He was suffering for a long time and he knew so many other people were suffering because of the shooting. I suppose he just couldn't take the burden he was dealing with anymore and he didn't want to be a burden to anyone else either."

The Warbucks family ate their breakfast showered and headed for the church in Framingham. When they arrived the Samuels family was waiting for them out in front of the church.

Oliver patted Tim Samuels on the back. "How have you all been holding up?"

"As good as we can given the circumstances." Tim replied.

"The girls have been taking things the hardest." Erica Samuels added.

Joanne embraced Jasmine tightly. "I can't believe this happened Jas."

Jasmine was crying, " Neither can I Jo. We're staying at Casey's house and I've been sleeping in Megan's room. She's been absolutely miserable."

Joanne nodded solemnly. "I know. She slept over our house Friday night. She cried herself to sleep. All I could do was rub her back and try to comfort her the best I could."

Erica Samuels smiled at her daughter and Joanne warmly. "You girls have been amazingly supportive of Megan. Mrs. Abramson told me this morning how much she and Mr. Abramson appreciate that. You two will always be like older sisters to her."

Grace reached out and pulled Anna and Jasmine into a strong hug. "Hello darlings."

"Hi Mrs. Warbucks." Anna whispered.

"We love you so much." Jasmine said

"We love all of you immensely. Don't you worry. We'll all get through this rough spot together." Grace kissed each girl on the forehead softly.

"Let's all go inside now. The service is about to start." Oliver said.

Once everyone was seated Rich Abramson got up to speak at the microphone.

"Good morning. Today we are not here to mourn a loss but to celebrate a life no matter how brief it was. Our son Darryl was an amazing young man and his life ended tragically and far too soon. We will miss him greatly but know his spirit watches over us. This year has been a struggle for us and dealing with this suicide only adds to the struggle. We couldn't be more grateful for our family and our friends. The friends we are most grateful for are Erica and Tim Samuels and Grace and Oliver Warbucks. They have been there for us the most along this journey and their strength and support means the world to us. We also grateful to the school board at the middle school in Queens where Casey and Darryl used to attend for setting up a family scholarship in our name. Thank you all for being here today. We love you all very much."

The service went on for about an hour. Afterwards there was a small reception at the Abramson's house.

All the kids gathered by one of the refreshment tables. Anna reached into her purse for a tissue. "I can't believe Darryl's gone. I'm going to miss him a lot." Fresh tears were starting to from at the edges of her eyes.

Joanne reached out to hug Anna. "This is a shock to all of us I think. Despite the fact Darryl was nasty to us sometimes I am going to miss him."

Anna put her arm around Joanne and Jasmine and pulled them into a hug. "Always remember that I'm here for you guys. The same thing for you and Casey Freddie."

Frederick nodded. "Okay."

Tim Samuels came up behind his oldest daughter wrapping her in a strong hug.

"My precious girl, I know how much you're going to miss Darryl. Please know that he's in a better place and not hurting anymore. We'll no longer have to put up with his torment.

"I love you Daddy." Anna whispered.

"I love you too sweetheart."

Mr. Samuels turned to face Frederick and Joanne. "How about we take you kids out to lunch for your birthday this weekend? We want to make up not being able to make it to your party."

Frederick smiled. "Gee, that sounds really great Mr. Samuels. Where are we going out for lunch?

"You kids can pick the place. Come up for the weekend. Stay from Friday-Monday. There are a lot of great places to eat near Jasmine and Anna's private school. They'll be happy to show you around the campus too."

"Sounds fun! Thanks a lot Mr. S." Joanne said.

Mr. Samuels released his daughter from his embrace and then Mrs. Pugh came up and pulled Anna and Jasmine into a hug.

" Grace Oliver and I are always here for you girls. You have our number."

Jasmine smiled. "Thanks a bunch Mrs. Pugh."

Anna smiled "Your cookies are so good Mrs. Pugh. Can you teach me how to make them?"

"I'd be delighted." She turned to face her grandchildren. " Freddie Jo say goodbye to your friends your parents are going to take you back to school now."

"Okay Grandma Helen."

In the car on the way back to Cambridge Grace sat in the backseat between her two children.

Joanne grinned. "Mr. Samuels invited us up this weekend. I can't wait to go see Anna and Jasmine's new school."

Grace returned her daughter's grin. "It's going to be a great weekend for sure. We'll be leaving right after school to drive to New York."

"It will be a great way to celebrate our birthday." Frederick said as his sister nodded in agreement.

"That service was beautiful." Frederick said.

Grace nodded. "It certainly was. Darryl obviously touched many lives before he got mixed in with awful crowd of kids."

:"Mama do you think Darryl is happier now?" Joanne asked

Grace shrugged. "I hope so darling, He's smiling down on us."

Frederick kissed his mother's cheek softly. "We love you Mom."

Grace kissed her children on the forehead. "I love you too my beautiful darlings."


	7. Shaken But Strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mrs. Pugh's reaction to the school shooting and suicide and how she helps Grace deal with the situation.

Tuesday October 5th started as any normal Tuesday would in our household. Grace walked Frederick and Joanne to the bus stop at 6:45 and then headed off to work at 7:30. Little did we know that life as we knew it would change forever that day.

Around 10:30 the phone rang. It was the assistant principal of the middle school. Oliver answered. The phone call didn't take very long. Oliver hung up the phone and then turned to me with a solemn expression on his face.

"What's the problem? I asked

"The middle school is currently on lockdown. A shooter is on the loose in the school."

The color drained from my face. " Are the children all right?"

Oliver nodded. "I'm heading over there at 12:30 to dismiss them. "Would you mind calling Grace at work to let her know what has happened?"

"Not a problem."

I got on the phone right away and called North Side Elementary School.

"Good morning Northside Elementary School."

"Good Morning, my name is Helen Pugh. Can I be connected to my daughter's classroom please?"

"What's your daughter's name m'am?"

"Grace Warbucks."

"Certainly please hold."

"Hello."

"Grace, sweetheart. I'm so sorry to call you at work."

"What's wrong Mama? It's rare that you call me at work unless something's wrong with Frederick and Joanne. Are they all right?"

"The assistant principal at the middle school just telephoned us. The school is on lock down because a shooter is on the loose."

Silence.

"Sweetie pie, are you there?"

"Yes Mama, I'm just trying to collect my thoughts. The children are all right?"

"As far as I know they are safe in their classrooms. Oliver plans to dismiss them at 12:15."

"Thanks for calling Mama. I'll see you when I get home this afternoon."

Oliver came home with Frederick and Joanne around 12:30. Joanne was in hysterical tears.

"Grandma Helen, I've never felt so afraid."

I took my surrogate granddaughter from Oliver's arms and kissed her forehead. "Don't fret dear. You're home safe now and I'm glad for that. Your mother will be happy about that too."

We went to the kitchen and had lunch. Grace came home at 3:15. Joanne ran to greet her.

"Oh Mama, today was so scary."

I stood in the doorway of the apartment.

"I know sweetheart. I've been worried about you and your brother all day. Come on. Let's go inside."

Later that night after the children were in bed Grace knocked on my door.

"Come in darling."

Grace looked like a frightened child. I had never seen her look so scared.

"Oh Mama, Joanne just came into our room and told us all about the shooting today. She's frightened to go back to school tomorrow."

"Is she sleeping now?"

Grace nodded. "I can't fall asleep at all though. I hate knowing that such a horrible thing had to happen today. At the same time I'm happy that both of our children were unharmed in the incident."

I pulled the covers back and patted the bed next to me. "Come here my beautiful girl."

Grace climbed into bed and curled into my side.

"Do they know who the shooter is?" I asked

Grace nodded. "Yes, Darryl Abramson."

My jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"Frederick said he came on the bus very angry this morning. He got in a fight with his mother last night about having to end his relationship with Anna Samuels."

"What on earth would possess him to bring a gun to school?"

Grace shrugged. "The police and Mr. Peters are still looking into that. Oliver said Darryl hangs out with a rough crowd of kids so I wouldn't be surprised if this shooting is drug related."

"When are we going to know more information?"

"Hopefully by the end of the week or beginning of next week."

"Did you want to sleep with me tonight darling?"

Grace nodded.

I clicked the light off and kissed Grace's forehead. "I love you Gracie Liz. Good night."

"I love you too Mama. Good night. ."

At 3:30 in the morning my door creaked opened.

"Mama, are you in here?" I heard Joanne whisper.

"Hi baby girl. Your mom is right here with me. Did you have a bad dream?"

Joanne nodded.

"Come on. We'll make some room for you."

"Okay.

Joanne climbed under the covers and snuggled in on Grace's left side. She kissed Grace's cheek and her eyes opened.

"Hi sweetheart. Did you have a bad dream?"

Joanne nodded. " I didn't know where you were Mama."

"I'm sorry my love, I meant to come check on you. Be still now and go back to sleep." Grace kissed Joanne's forehead softly and both of them were asleep with in seconds.

Two weeks later were parent teacher conferences. Grace arrived home looking incredibly distraught. I recognized these as the same set of emotions she'd had several years before when Molly was diagnosed with dyslexia. I patted her shoulder.

"Would you like some tea?"

Grace nodded and followed me numbly to the kitchen.. once she sat down at the table she put her head down in the crook of her arm and started to cry.

"How were the parent teacher conferences?"

Grace composed herself. "Joanne and Frederick have not been dealing with the after math of the shooting very well. Their teachers told us that their grades have slipped. Apparently things are the same for their friends Jasmine and Casey."

"How much have their grades declined?"

"Not very drastically but I'm worried it could get worse as time goes on."

"What details have been released about the shooting?"

"No one was seriously hurt and two students and two teachers were transported to the hospital. Anna Samuels was one of those students."

"Is she alright?"

"Yes."

"Any idea on what the motive for the shooting was?"

Grace nodded. " Oliver was right. It was drug related. Many bags of marijuana were found in not only Darryl's locker but lockers of his friends."

"Is Darryl out of school?"

"Yes. He's suspended indefinitely. Valerie and Rich are taking him to a psychologist tomorrow to get him tested. He might have a mental illness."

"Do you suppose you might consider home schooling the children?"

Grace shrugged. "We'll see if their grades improve if not then that's something we're definitely consider. I believe Oliver still has the contact information for Molly's old home school teacher somewhere."

Two days after parent teacher conferences Jasmine Casey and their parents came over for dinner.

After dinner we went into the study.

"Kids, as you know parent teacher conferences were Monday night. Your teachers expressed some concern that you've been having some academic struggles due to the aftermath of the shooting. Is this true?" Oliver asked.

All four children nodded their heads. Joanne and Jasmine were crying. Grace went over to where they were sitting.

"Darlings, please tell us what's wrong. We want to help."

"I don't know if anyone really understands how we feel about this." Joanne whispered.

"Yeah, it's so hard to talk about this with our friends." Jasmine agreed.

"What makes it so hard?" Erica Samuels asked.

" None of us understand why Darryl would shoot Anna if he claims he loved her ." Jasmine said nodding her head toward Casey and Frederick

"Jasmine you know how Dad and I feel about Anna and Darryl's relationship. They're too young to date." Erica Samuels said.

Jasmine nodded. "I know that Mama. I hate how people are making Anna so isolated. No one seems to want to talk to her because of her relationship with Darryl."

Erica Samuels nodded. "I know sweetheart. I feel the same way."

"Boys how do you feel about this?" Oliver asked

Frederick shrugged " I don't know."

"You must have some kind of emotion."

"Nope."

Grace Oliver and I exchanged a worried glance between us.

"How about you Case?" Rich Abramson asked

"I've just felt so alone at school. I hate being referred to as ' The Brother of the shooter.' I wish people would stop being so mean and judgmental."

Frederick nodded. "Yeah Darryl didn't mean to shoot Anna or any of those other people. It was an accident."

"Do you feel angry at your brother sweetheart?" Valerie Abramson asked.

Casey nodded. "Yeah. I don't know what to think of him anymore. I used to look up to him so much."

I looked at Valerie Abramson. "Grace told me your son is into drugs."

She nodded. "That's correct Helen. He's been smoking marijuana since late March."

"" He hasn't smoked around the kids has he?"

Valerie Abramson shook her head. "No. We don't allow him or any of his friends to smoke in the house."

"I understand the shooting was drug related.

Valerie nodded again. "Unfortunately it was. Anna was very heroic because she was trying to protect other people from getting to the locker the drugs were hidden in. The police later found a total of 8 three pound bags of marijuana in both Darryl's locker and the locker of his two drug dealer friends."

Oliver's jaw dropped. "Has Darryl been dealing drugs too?"

"We're beginning to suspect that he has been."

Grace turned to face Joanne, Frederick Casey and Jasmine. "What can we do to help the four of you?

"Our friends don't listen to us when we tell them how we feel about the shooting. " Frederick said.  
Casey nodded in agreement. " You should talk to our teachers and tell them that they shouldn't judge Darryl or Anna without knowing the whole story."

" Darryl's been so angry and violent lately." Casey said.

"Has he hit any of you kids? Tim Samuels asked

Jasmine shook her head. "He has hit Anna once though."

"He has hit me on a few occasions" Valerie said.

"Has he always been violent?" Oliver asked

"No. This only just started recently. We don't know what the problem is. We're thinking of taking him to a professional to get him evaluated for mental illness." Rich Abramson said.

"I don't like knowing my sister got hurt and I hate seeing her in pain." Jasmine said.

"Come here honey." Erica Samuels sat down on the couch and pulled Jasmine into her lap kissing her gently on the forehead.

Oliver cleared his throat.

""This has certainly been a traumatic situation for all of you but we don't want this to affect your studies. Do you understand?"

The children nodded. "Yes sir." Frederick said.

"We love all of you very much and you should never be afraid to talk to us about anything alright?" Valerie Abramson said.

All four children nodded. "Okay Mom." Casey said.

"Do you all feel better now that we had this talk?" Grace asked.

Casey nodded. "Yeah, we do. Thanks a lot Mrs. Warbucks."

After the Samuels and Abramsons left Grace patted Frederick's shoulder.

"Sweetheart can we talk to you?"'

"Sure Mom." Joanne headed upstairs to go do her homework once she left the room Oliver closed the door behind her.

"Frederick. we've been very concerned about you." Oliver said.

"Why?"

Grace patted her son's shoulder. "Your sister has been up front about how issues related to the shooting have been bothering her. You haven't talked to us at all."

"We're worried that you're not processing things very well my love." I said.

Frederick sighed. "Joanne Casey and Jasmine have been so sad. I want to be there for them but I want to be upbeat and happy. Deep down I'm really angry and upset too."

Grace sat down on the couch and pulled Frederick into her lap. " We love you so much for being incredibly brave Frederick. You have to realize it's perfectly alright to be angry or sad."

Frederick buried his face into Grace's shoulder and burst into gut wrenching sobs.

Grace rubbed her hands up and down Frederick's back. "It's okay to cry my precious boy.

"Why would Darryl bring a gun to school and hurt so many people including Anna?"

"No one really knows son." Oliver said.

"Are you afraid to go to school dearest?" I asked.

Frederick hesitated before answering. "Sometimes." he whispered.

"What makes you the most afraid?"

"That someone else from Darryl's group could bring a gun to school and hurt more people."

"Do you feel better now that we talked with your sister and your friends about the shooting?" Grace asked.

Frederick nodded and kissed Grace's cheek softly. "I love you Mom."

Grace titled her son's chin upward and wiped the last of his tears away with the tips of her fingers.

"Your father Grandma Helen and I love you and your sister very much. Never be afraid to come to us with concerns you have about the shooting alright?

"Okay. Can I go do my homework now?"

Oliver nodded. "You're excused."

Frederick left the room and once he did Grace started to cry.

"Why did something like this have to happen? Our children are afraid to go to school. Things shouldn't be like this."

Oliver sat next to Grace on one side of the sofa and I sat on the other side.

"The police are working hard to curb the violence darling." Oliver said.

"They need to work harder. All of Darryl's friends who are involved with the drug dealing should be expelled."

I pulled a handkerchief from my apron pocket. "It appears to look like Darryl needs more therapy. He seems like he's very angry a lot of the time."

Grace took the handkerchief from me and dabbed at her eyes. "Valerie told me on her way out that they had Darryl evaluated by psychologists last week. They're still waiting on the results."

"Are they thinking he could be mentally ill?" Oliver said.

Grace shrugged. "I'm not completely sure. That's why they had him evaluated."

"Do they know how he even got the gun?" I asked.

Oliver shook his head. "The police are still investigating that Helen. Tim Samuels's brother is the police chief and he said he'd keep us informed on any developments in the investigation."

"I feel like I'm living in a nightmare... I really wish this was just a bad dream that we could wake up from and it would all be over." Grace said.

I kissed her cheek. "Don't fret darling. Things will look brighter sooner or later."

At the beginning of November Oliver Grace the Samuels and the Abramsons had a meeting with Joanne Frederick Casey and Joanne's teachers. They unanimously decided that home schooling would be the best route to go until the children felt safe in school. Oliver had been wise to keep the contact information for Molly's old home school teacher. Surprisingly she still lived in the area in the next town over from us. Grace was delighted to be working with her again.

The Friday night after the first week of home schooling Grace came into my room after tucking Joanne and Frederick into bed.

"How did the children do with the first week of being home schooled darling?"

Grace sat down on the bed and sighed. "I think it's going to be a rough adjustment. They both really seem to miss their friends.

"It was the same way with Molly when we home schooled her because of dyslexia."

"The situation here is a little bit different because we had to take to Frederick and Joanne out of school because the school environment was not safe for them to be in. Hopefully this will be temporary."

"Are Jasmine and Casey enjoying being home schooled?

Grace shrugged. "They seem to be. I think like Jo and Freddie they really miss all their friends."

"Is it my understanding that Anna is going to private school in Brooklyn in January?"

Grace nodded. "Yes Mama. Erica told me that it's quite possible that Jasmine may be going there as well."

My jaw dropped. "This will devastate Joanne."

Grace nodded. "It certainly will. It's for the best though. Jasmine and Anna have been teased relentlessly since the shooting. That social situation in that school is not the best for them."

"Casey plans to move too?"

"Yes, but not till after school gets out. We'll be moving to Boston around the same time to be closer to Annie and the baby."

"Timing couldn't be more impeccable for that."

Grace smiled. " I know Mama. Aren't you so excited? You're going to be a great grandmother!"

I kissed her forehead softly. "I'm just as excited as you are my love. We're going to spoil that baby rotten."

Grace was silent.

"Do you remember when Molly was diagnosed with dyslexia my love?"

Grace nodded. "Yes I do. That was one of the roughest times emotionally for me."

"Well this family endured that situation well. I think it will take a lot of time for the children to deal with the aftermath of the shooting but with time they will heal and so will you Oliver, Erica Tim Valerie and Rich."

Grace nodded again. "I think the best thing our family can do right now is be a support system for Valerie and Rich. They are really struggling a lot right now."

I stroked Grace's hair back from her forehead and kissed it softly. "We'll certainly do that dear. The Abramsons are the nicest people that we've ever known. They don't deserve to be going through any of this."

Grace looked at me and new tears were filling her eyes. "Oh Mama, I just can't believe that Darryl was diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia. Casey looked so upset when he was over here last week. I would be absolutely beside myself if one of our children was diagnosed with a mental illness."

"I know Gracie Liz. Do Rich and Valerie suspect that the Paranoid Schizophrenia had anything to do with what led up to the shooting last month?"

"In addition to the issue with the drugs.. yes they do believe that's part of it. They think he had some sort of dream about cops chasing him down an alley for drugs and they suspect that he had a mental breakdown in the hallway and just started to shoot people. He wasn't even thinking clearly about how his actions could affect other people."

"What a shame. Darryl was such a bright boy too. It seems he has thrown his life away all because of one senseless act."

Grace nodded. Her body was shaking with sobs.

"There there angel. Please don't cry. Mama's here."

Grace's head nestled into my chest. I rubbed my hand up and down her back and bent down to kiss her forehead again.

"I love you sweetheart." I whispered.

"I love you too Mama." Grace fell asleep in my arms.

In May we went up to SUNY Buffalo for Molly and Isabella's graduation. I was so excited to meet my great grandson for the first time. We arrived in Buffalo late Wednesday evening and spent a few days there before the graduation.

"Grandma Helen, meet your great grandson." Annie beamed with delight.

"Oh my darling, he's a doll! Congratulations! I couldn't be happier for you!" I kissed Annie's forehead softly.

"Can you even believe Molly and Isabella are graduating on Saturday?" Annie asked

Grace shook her head with tears in her eyes. "It seems like it was just yesterday when we came here to move Molly into her dorm. You girls are growing up way too fast for my liking."

Annie kissed Grace's cheek. "She's accomplished so much Mom and has come a long way since she was diagnosed with dyslexia. Now like me she'll be a special education teacher helping to make a difference in the lives of students with disabilities."

Grace squeezed Annie's hand tightly. "Your father and I couldn't be prouder of the wonderful young women you and your sister have become. You're wonderful role models for your brother and sister. We love you both so much."

"We love you two so much Mom." Annie returned Grace' squeeze.

The weather for the graduation was perfect. Not a cloud was in the sky. I squeezed Grace's hand tightly as Molly's name was called.

"There's our gorgeous girl Gracie Liz." I whispered.

Grace was choked up with emotion. "If my parents were still alive they would be so happy with how our family has grown and how their two oldest grandchildren have become such successful young women."

I smiled. "They certainly would be. You've done an impeccable job with raising them."

After the ceremony we went out to dinner at a restaurant in down town Buffalo. Gene raised a toast to Molly and Isabella.

"To our beautiful girls, we can't fathom how fast the past four years have flown by. We are so proud of you and all your success. We love you and wish nothing but the best for you in the years to come."

Isabella leaned over and kissed her father's cheek softly. "I love you and Mom so much Daddy."

School ended on Thursday June 10th. We moved to Cambridge the following Monday. We had a four bed room apartment in the same building as Jennifer. Jennifer lived in the apartment directly upstairs from us.

At dinner the day we moved in to the new apartment I noticed Joanne was very quiet. After we finished eating I patted her shoulder.

"Did you want to talk to Grandma sweetheart?"

Joanne nodded.

"Come on, let's go to my room."

When we got to my room I shut the door behind us. Joanne threw herself on the bed and started to sob.

"Jo Bear, tell Grandma Helen what's wrong."

"I'm just so mad that Jasmine had to go to private school. Now that we live in Massachusetts I'll never see her again."

I gathered her in my arms and rocked her back and forth,

"Darling, that's simply not true. We may be 3 or 4 hours away from New York but doesn't mean you won't get to see Jasmine."

"What if she forgets about me?"

I took out my handkerchief and dabbed at her cheeks. "I promise you that won't happen. The two of you have been friends for a long time. While both of you will make new friends this year it's unlikely she'll forget about you.

"Molly told me the same thing earlier, I guess I have a hard time believing it."

"Believe it my dear.. it couldn't be truer."

Joanne kissed my cheek softly. "I love you Grandma."

I wrapped my surrogate granddaughter into a warm hug. "I love you too Joanne Rachel."

The new school year started on September 8th. Frederick and Joanne had a rough adjustment at first but once they got involved in after school activities things seemed to go smoother.

Grace was planning a party for Joanne and Frederick's 12th birthday which was on September 27th. The Tuesday before the party we got news that turned our lives upside down.

I had just arrived home from shopping to cook dinner. I entered the kitchen to see Grace with her head down on the table sobbing.

" Gracie Liz, whatever is the matter?"

"Oh Mama I just got the most horrible news."

I rubbed my hands up and down her back comfortingly waiting for her tears to slow before she continued to speak.

"What's happened?"

"That was Valerie Abramson on the phone. Darryl committed suicide this morning."

"I thought he was doing so well with his recovery."

"So did I. I guess I was wrong."

"What led up to this?"

Grace shrugged. "Valerie said he left a note on his bed that simply said. 'I'm sorry for causing everyone so much pain. I think it's better this way. I love you.' They don't really know what led up to it."

"Do you suppose it could be related to the shooting?"

"I'm certainly not ruling it out but I'm not definitely sure."

I pulled Grace to her feet and into my arms.

"Everything will be okay darling."

"I hope you're right Mama. The Abramsons have been through so much pain and hardship already. This just puts the icing on the cake."

"Is there anything we can do to help them?"

"Their daughter Megan is sleeping over on Friday night. Casey requested that you make a batch of your chocolate chip cookies for the reception after the services."

I smiled. "I'd be delighted to. I can make any special meals for them I'd be more than happy to do that as well."

At the dinner table Joanne took immediate notice that Grace looked upset.

"Mama what's wrong? Why are you sad?"

"Kids we're having a guest stay with us this weekend."

Joanne and Frederick glanced at each other. They couldn't figure out why Grace was so upset. "Who is it?" Joanne asked.

"Casey's sister Megan."

"Casey's not coming over too? Frederick asked.

Grace shook her head. "No sweetheart. "

"Why not?"

Grace looked at me and then looked at Oliver. She took a deep breath. She didn't like being the bearer of bad news

"Frederick, Joanne Casey's brother Darryl is not with us any longer."

"What?!" both children explained.

Grace choked back a sob and I reached out and patted her shoulder.

"Darryl committed suicide early this morning. A jogger found his body hanging by a tree branch at 8:30 am."

Oliver cleared his throat. "Megan is staying over on Friday night while her parents and Casey go shopping for stuff they need to buy for the wake and funeral services."

"Why would Darryl do something like that? All his parents were trying to do was helping him to get better." Frederick asked.

'My sweet boy... there was so much tension in that household since the shooting last year. I think he just couldn't handle all the emotions he was feeling." I said.

"That sounds really selfish to me. Did he not realize how many people cared about him?" Joanne asked.

Oliver sighed. "I'm sure he did darling. I think on top of his paranoid schizophrenia he was also depressed about issues related to the shooting. He wasn't forthcoming about admitting he was depressed. If he had been he could have been treated for that. That probably would have saved his life."

"Did he feel really bad for hurting all those people?" Frederick asked

Grace nodded. "Mrs. Abramson said there was a note on his bed that simply read "I'm sorry for causing everyone so much pain. I love you."

"When are the services?" Joanne asked.

"The wake is Monday night from 6-8 and the funeral is Tuesday at 9am. You two will go to school late that day." Oliver said.

The children nodded.

"I can't believe this happened." Joanne whispered.

Grace squeezed her hand under the table. " None of us can my darling girl."

Tuesday morning we were up at 7:45 to get ready to go to Darryl's services. The Samuels family had come in from New York the night before and were staying with the Abramsons. When we got to the church Grace reached out and hugged Erica Samuels. "How are you all holding up?"

"As good as we can given the circumstances. I think the girls are still in shock." Erica replied.

Grace pulled Anna and Jasmine in a hug and kissed each of them on the forehead. "Hello darlings."

"Hi Mrs. Warbucks. " Anna whispered.

"We love you." Jasmine said.

"We love you all too sweetheart. We'll all get through this rough spot together." Mom said.

I squeezed Erica's shoulder tightly. "I'm so sorry for everything Erica. I know how hard this has been on Anna and Jasmine."

Erica smiled. "We appreciate that very much Helen. We honestly could not ask for better friends than Grace and Oliver. They've been wonderful to Tim the girls and I and Val, Rich, Casey and Megan."

"We care about you all very deeply." I whispered.

Erica kissed my cheek. "We love you guys too."

The usher led us to our seats.

Megan was sitting on Valerie Abramson's lap. Her head was nuzzled deep into her shoulder. She was crying. Valerie Abramson looked like she hadn't slept well in several days.

Rich Abramson got up to speak at the microphone.

"This has been a rough year for our family and this adds extra hurt to our lives. Today we are here to reflect on Darryl's short life and the impact it had on us all. We'd like to thank our family and friends especially Grace and Oliver Warbucks and Erica and Tim Samuels for all the support they have shown us in the past year. We couldn't be more grateful for your support. We love you all very much."

The funeral service lasted for about an hour. Afterwards we went to Valerie and Rich's house for a little while before going back to school. All the kids gathered by one of the refreshment tables. Anna reached into her purse for a tissue. "I can't believe Darryl's gone. I'm going to miss him a lot." Fresh tears were starting to from at the edges of her eyes.

Joanne reached out to hug Anna. "This is a shock to all of us I think. Despite the fact Darryl was nasty to us sometimes I am going to miss him."

Anna put her arm around Joanne and Jasmine and pulled them into a hug. "Always remember that I'm here for you guys. The same thing for you and Casey Freddie."

Frederick nodded. "Okay."

I wrapped my arms around Anna and Jasmine. "If you girls ever need anyone to talk to you have our number. Grace and I are always here for you."

Anna smiled through her tears. "Thanks Mrs. Pugh. Your cookies are delicious."

I returned the smile "Thank you my dear. If you'd like I can teach you how to make them someday."

Anna's smile grew wider. "I'd really like that Mrs. Pugh. You're such a good cook and baker!"

Grace came over to us.

"Okay kids. Say your goodbyes. It's time to go back to school."

Anna pulled Joanne and Frederick in to a strong hug.

"This had such horrible timing. How about we make it up to you guys next week? We'll go out to lunch at a restaurant near our private school for your birthday? It will be our treat."

Joanne smiled. "That sounds awesome. Thanks Anna!"

"No problem Jo. We love you guys so much!"

Joanne kissed Anna's cheek softly. "We love you too Anna."


	8. A  Scary Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frederick's view point of the school shooting

Today started pretty normal. My sister and I were up by 6:15 this morning and Mom took us to the bus at 6:45. It was a chilly early October morning.  
"Have a good day kids. I love you." My mom said as she kissed us on the forehead.  
"We love you too Mama." My sister Joanne said.   
Our bus stop is the first on our route. Two stops later my best friend Casey got on. His older brother Darryl didn't look very happy.

"Don't talk to my brother. He's in a real bad mood today. He got in a fight with my mom last night." Casey warned me.

"What happened?"

"Well first off all they don't approve of the group of kids he hang out with."

"They do drugs don't they?"  
Casey nodded. "Also you know how Darryl's dating Jasmine's sister?"  
I nodded. Jasmine is my sister's best friend. Her sister Anna and Darryl have been dating since spring.   
"My parents don't approve of that either. They think that 8th grade isn't mature enough to have a serious romantic relationship."  
"Do they want them to break up?"  
Casey nodded. "Yeah. Jasmine's parents agree with them too."  
"Does Darryl want to break up with her?"  
"I don't think so. I think Jasmine's parents might persuade Anna to break up with him because of the losers he hangs out with. Mr. and Mrs. Samuels don't want her to be involved with a crowd like that."  
I nodded. "That's logical."   
From that point forward it was your pretty typical Monday... until 10:15 when our principal came on over the loudspeaker.  
"Attention Staff. There is a gunman loose in the school. The building is on lockdown. Please do not let your students out of the classroom until the area is secure. Thank you."  
I was in Social Studies class. Casey sits behind me. He poked me in the shoulder.  
"What do you think is going on?" he asked  
"I have no idea. I hope we find out information soon."  
We weren't able to switch classrooms to go our next class for at least an hour. At 12:30 my dad came to the school to dismiss me and my sister.  
"Oh Daddy I'm so scared." Jasmine said.  
My dad picked her up. "It's alright sweetheart. I'm here now. Let's go home."  
On the way home Dad had a talk with us about the shooting.  
"This has been a traumatic day for you two hasn't it?"  
We nodded.  
"Do you guys know any details?"  
"All I know is that Casey told me on the bus that Darryl was upset about a fight he got into with his mom last night. Part of the argument was about his relationship with Anna ending. He was mad about that."  
When we got home Grandma Helen met us at the door. She took Joanne from my father's arms and then pulled me in to a hug tightly.

"My darlings, I am so happy you're safe. Your mother will be relieved too. Come along let's all have some lunch. I've made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

When we heard Mom's car pull into the driveway at 3:15 Joanne ran to greet her.

"Oh Mama, today was so scary."  
"I know baby girl. I've been worried about you and your brother all day."  
"Hi Mom." I said.  
"Hi Honey. I am so glad the two of you are safe."  
After dinner the phone rang. It was for my sister. Jasmine was on the other end of the phone and she sounded very upset.  
When Mom noticed Joanne was upset she asked my sister to give the phone to her.  
The conversation lasted about 15 minutes. When my mom hung up the phone she looked very sad.  
"Kids, I think we should have a talk about the shooting."  
We nodded.  
Dad looked at me. "Frederick, you said that Casey's brother came to school today very angry correct?"  
"Yes sir."  
"Did either of you know that he was the shooter this morning?"  
My sister and I looked at each other. "No." I replied. Joanne looked too shocked to say anything.  
Mom knelt down in front of me. "Frederick, sweetheart did Casey tell you that his mom wanted Darryl to break up with Anna?"  
I nodded. "Was Anna hurt in the shooting today?"  
Mom nodded. "She was... but thankfully not very seriously. She was injured trying to protect other people in the hallway from the bullets."  
"I am mad at him for hurting Anna and hurting other people." Joanne said.  
Mom nodded. " You have every right to be angry sweetie. Your principal suspects that drugs may be involved but he's not completely sure yet."   
"When will we know?" Joanne asked.  
Dad shrugged. "The police are investigating everything related to the shooting. Hopefully we'll all have more information later on this week."  
Later in the week the whole school had a big assembly about the shooting. All the grades gathered in the gym and our principal Mr. Peters was up at the podium.  
"Students and Staff this week has been very rough for all of us. I thank all of you for your patience while we investigate this shooting. We do have a victim in police custody and sadly he is one of our own students. More people may be involved. I have the chief of police here to explain things more."

Mr. Peters stepped away from the podium and the chief of police took the podium. I smiled at Casey. We knew him well because he was Jasmine and Anna's Uncle Jack.

"Good Morning. I just wanted to let the school community know that this was a drug related shooting. We are still searching the 8th grade hallway for more evidence and our search hopes to be concluded by the early part of next week."

I heard one of the 8th graders yell out "Do we know who the shooter is?"  
He nodded his head sadly. "Unfortunately the shooter was one of your own classmates. How many of you know Darryl Abramson?"  
Several 8th graders raised their hands.. everyone who was sitting in our row turned to stare at Casey who turned red with embarrassment.  
"Darryl has been suspended indefinitely and is still in the process of being questioned. More suspects may be taken into custody in the coming weeks."  
Mr. Peters came back to the podium "Thank you Officer Samuels. Our guidance department will be on hand the rest of the day for those of you who want to express your concerns about the shooting.  
After the assembly Anna's uncle came to find us. Jasmine and Anna came up to say hi to him as well.  
"Hi Uncle Jack." Anna said reaching out to give her uncle a hug.   
He smiled at us. "Hi sweetheart. This has been a rough week for you and your sister hasn't it?"  
Anna nodded. "Yes, it's been a rough week for the whole school but for us especially." She looked at Jasmine Joanne Casey and me.  
"I'm here for all you kids if you want to talk about anything. Just tell your mom to give me a call."  
"We love you Uncle Jack." Jasmine said.  
"I love you girls very much. I have to get back to the station now."  
We all headed back to our classrooms. In the hallway we saw two girl pointing at Casey.  
"That must be the brother of the shooter. I feel so bad for him." one girl said sympathetically.  
The other girl snorted "I wouldn't take too much pity on him. Darryl's a loser. He got what he saw coming to him. I hope he's in juvenile detention for awhile. He's kind of a physco."  
Casey walked the rest of the way back to class with his head down.  
"Don't listen tot them Case." I said putting my arm around him.  
Two weeks later were parent teacher conferences which were on a Monday. On Thursday Jasmine and Casey came over after school. Their parents came over for dinner at 5:00. After dinner we went into my dad's office.  
"Kids, as you know parent teacher conferences were Monday night. Your teachers expressed some concern that you've been having some academic struggles due to the aftermath of the shooting. Is this true?" My dad asked,

We all nodded. Joanne and Jasmine were crying. My mom went over to where they were sitting.  
"Darlings, please tell us what's wrong. We want to help."   
"I don't know if anyone really understands how we feel about this." Joanne whispered.

"Yeah, it's so hard to talk about this with our friends." Jasmine agreed. 

"What makes it so hard?" Mrs. Samuels asked.   
" None of us understand why Darryl would shoot Anna if he claims he loved her ." Jasmine said nodding her head toward Casey and I."

"Jasmine you know how Dad and I feel about Anna and Darryl's relationship. They're too young to date." Mrs. Samuels said.  
Jasmine nodded. "I know that Mama. I hate how people are making Anna so isolated. No one seems to want to talk to her because of her relationship with Darryl."  
Mrs. Samuels nodded. "I know sweetheart. I feel the same way."  
"Boys how do you feel about this?" Dad asked  
"I shrugged. " I don't know."  
"You must have some kind of emotion."  
"Nope."  
"How about you Case?" Mr. Samuels asked  
"I've just felt so alone at school. I hate being referred to as ' The Brother of the shooter.' I wish people would stop being so mean and judgmental."  
I nodded. "Yeah Darryl didn't mean to shoot Anna or any of those other people. It was an accident."  
"Do you feel angry at your brother sweetheart?" Mrs. Abramson asked.  
Casey nodded. "Yeah. I don't know what to think of him anymore. I used to look up to him so much."  
Dad looked at Mr. Abramson. " Rich, you said your son hangs out with a rough group of kids. Is he into drugs?"  
Mr. Abramson nodded. "" Yes, Oliver he is. He smokes marijuana. The police suspect that he was hiding drugs in his locker."

"How long has he been smoking?"

"Since before he started to date Anna."  
Mom's jaw dropped. "" He hasn't smoked around the kids has he?"  
Mrs. Abramson shook her head. "No. We don't allow him or any of his friends to smoke in the house."  
"Was the shooting drug related?"  
Mr. Abramson nodded. "Unfortunately it was. Anna was very heroic because she was trying to protect other people from getting to the locker the drugs were hidden in. The police later found 3 four lb bags of marijuana in one of the lockers."

"What can we do to help you?" Mom asked  
"Our friends don't listen to us when we tell them how we feel about the shooting. You should talk to our teachers and tell them that they shouldn't judge Darryl or Anna without knowing the whole story."

" Darryl's been so angry lately." Casey said.  
"Has he hit any of you kids? Mrs. Samuels asked  
We shook our heads.  
"He has hit me on a few occasions" Mrs. Abramson said.  
"Has he always been violent?" Dad asked  
"No. This only just started recently. We don't know what the problem is. We're thinking of taking him to a professional to get him evaluated for mental illness." Mr. Abramson said.  
"I don't like knowing my sister got hurt. I hate seeing her in pain." Jasmine said.  
"Come here honey." Mrs. Samuels sat down on the couch and pulled Jasmine into her lap kissing her gently on the forehead.  
Dad cleared his throat.  
""This has certainly been a traumatic situation for all of you but we don't want this to affect your studies. Do you understand?"

We all nodded. "Yes sir." Frederick said.   
"We love all of you very much and you should never be afraid to talk to us about anything alright?" Mrs. Abramson said.

We all nodded. "Okay Mom." Casey said. 

"Do you all feel better now that we had this talk?" Mom asked.  
Casey nodded. "Yeah, we do. Thanks a lot Mrs. Warbucks."  
After the Abramsons and the Samuels left Mom patted me on the shoulder.  
"Sweetheart, let's go upstairs to my room to have a talk."  
I nodded. "Okay Mom."  
Once we got to her room Mom patted the bed next to her. "Come here my sweet boy."  
I sat down next to her and she pulled me in tightly next to her.  
"Frederick your father and I have been worried about you and how you've been dealing with the shooting."  
"Why?"  
"Well your sister has been pretty open with us about how she is feeling. She's been really scared to go to school every day since the shooting. You haven't really come forward to share any of your feelings with us. We're just concerned you're processing things in the wrong way."  
"How would I be processing things in the wrong way?"  
Mom looked at me sadly " This has been a very traumatic time for you your sister your friends and the whole school. You seem to be keeping a lot of feelings inside. We want you to know that we're here to talk about anything you want to talk about."  
I sighed. "I want to be there for Joanne Jasmine and Casey but it's the hardest for me because they've been so sad. I feel like I should be the happy one and try to keep their spirits up but deep down inside I'm really sad and angry too. Just as much as they are."  
Mom smiled. "You're so brave sweetheart. We love you so much for that. You also have to realize it's okay to be sad. Everyone gets sad or angry once in awhile."  
I nodded.   
"Come to Mama Frederick Oliver."  
The tears I had been holding back for two weeks started to flow down my cheeks.  
Mom gathered me in her arms and rocked me like she used to do when I was a baby.  
"There there my sweet baby boy it's okay to cry." Mom kissed me on the forehead.  
"I love you Mom."  
"Your father and I love you so much. We're always here for you and your sister. Grandma Helen, Annie and Molly are too. Never forget that."  
"Okay."  
A few weeks later I was in the hallway between classes and someone was giving Casey a hard time.  
"Hey Abramson we heard you're brother's in juvenile dentention."  
Casey nodded.  
"How long is gonna be there?"  
I don't know."  
"Your brother is a druggie and a punk. Hopefully you don't turn out to be like him. "  
"Yeah he's a loser. He probably didn't even really love Anna Samuels." another guy said  
I was getting mad. "Leave him alone! You don't know anything about the situation."  
"What are you gonna do Warbucks? Why are you sticking up for that punk's little brother anyway?"  
"He's my friend... my best friend!"  
"Well Darryl's a loser. He doesn't deserve to go to this school. It's no place for loser like him."  
Then he punched me.  
"How are you gonna retaliate Warbucks? Are you a pussy?"  
"No." I whispered.  
"Prove it."  
I hit him across the face.  
"Fight Fight! People cheered.  
Freddie you don't have do this." Casey said.  
He hit me again.  
I threw another punch.  
Pretty soon a teacher came to split us up.  
"What's going on?"  
"He was making fun of Casey."  
"And you decided to punch him?"  
"He started it."  
"Frederick this is unlike you. I am going to have to take you to the Principal's office and he'll call your parents."

Later that night Dad took me into his office.

"What happened in school today son?"

" I didn't start anything that. This kid was making fun of Casey because of stuff related to the shooting. He was making me mad and he was the instigator. I didn't even want to hit him"

"Frederick there are better ways to deal with situations than fighting."

I stared at the floor. "I know that. I'm sorry. All I was doing was sticking up for Casey. The fight wasn't my fault."  
"It's okay. Just don't let your mother and I hear about anything like this happening again or you'll be grounded for two weeks."  
"Okay."

A week later we had a meeting with all of our teachers. 

Joanne and Jasmine's teacher turned to us. "Kids, we realize you've been struggling with the aftermath of the shooting. Can you tell us what's going on?"  
"People are making fun of us and Anna and Darryl and we don't like it." Casey said"  
"Do you realize that your grades have been continuing to suffer?  
We nodded.  
"We're sorry." Jasmine was crying.  
My teacher Mrs. Abraham got pulled her into a hug. "It's alright. Please don't cry. No one is upset with you."  
"We don't feel safe at school." Joanne said.  
Mr. Peters looked at us. "How would you kids feel about being homeschooled?" he asked.  
Joanne looked at me Jasmine and Casey. "I think that's something we should do."   
Mom smiled. " All of us agree that we should manage your academic progress."  
"When will it start and how long will it last?" Jasmine said.  
"The length of this will depend on how much progress you make and your comfort level with returning to school. It will start next week."  
Mr. Abramson interjected. "I think we may take Casey out of school for the rest of year. We are planning on moving in June."  
"What? I don't want to move!" Casey said.  
Mrs. Abramson looked sadly at him "Grandma and Grandpa suggested we should go live with them for awhile. You'll start school in the fall at Framingham Middle School."  
"I'll get to come back for high school though?" Casey said  
Mr. Abramson shook his head. "No Casey. We're moving to Massachusetts permanently . The aftermath of the shooting has affected you far too greatly for us to stay in this school system. It's not a good situation. Our home situation is not healthy for you and your sister either."

"How is Darryl doing?" Mr. Stevens asked.

"He's been diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia. He's not returning to school for the rest of the year. When we move to Massachusetts we will home school him for all of high school. It will be likely that he won't go to college but we're not thinking that far ahead right now." Mrs. Abramson said.

"Will Anna return to school?"   
Mrs. Samuels shook her head. "I'm afraid not. She's going to private school starting after Christmas. We're home schooling her until then."  
"Mama am I going to private school too?" Joanne asked.  
"We're seriously considering it honey."


	9. Shocking News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frederick's reaction to Darryl's suicide.

Homeschooling was a rough transition at first. I'm happy that this is only a temporary thing. I really miss all my friends at school. Jasmine and Anna moved away on January 2nd. Joanne was pretty upset. Later that night we talked about it as we were getting ready to go sleep.  
"How are you doing?" I asked her.  
Joanne didn't answer me right away.  
"Jo?"  
"Well what do you think? My best friend just moved away. At least Casey gets to finish off the school year with you."  
"Don't be so nasty."  
Joanne sighed. "I'm sorry Freddie I'm just really mad. I wish things didn't have to result to Jasmine having to go private school."  
"Casey's moving away at the end of the year too you know. I'm going to miss him when he moves."  
"It's not the same with you. We're moving to Boston soon so we can be closer to Annie once she has the baby and Casey will still live pretty close. Framingham is only 45 minutes away. Once we move Jasmine and I will be in two totally different states."  
Mom stood in the doorway.  
"Mind if I join you?" she asked  
We shook our heads.  
Mom took a seat at the edge of the bed. "Come to Mama my precious darlings."  
We curled in on either side of her. Mom kissed Joanne's forehead.  
"Baby girl, I know you're upset about Jasmine moving away but you have to understand that the situation she was in at school was not good for her."  
"I still could have helped her stand up to those dumb bullies. Once we move to Boston I'll be even farther away from her."  
Mom smiled. "Distance might be a challenge for the two of you but don't let it stand in your way. We can always go to Brooklyn on the weekends or Jasmine and Mrs. Samuels can come visit us. No matter how many new friends you make your friendship with Jasmine will always remain strong. Who knows? Her parents may end up choosing to send her to private school in Massachusetts so you guys will be closer."  
Joanne's eyes brightened. "Really? Are there private high schools in Cambridge?"  
"I'm sure there's many private schools in the area. Maybe she'll even move to Cambridge."  
"Mom are we definitely moving to Cambridge?" I asked  
Mom nodded. "Yes. Aunt Jen and Aunt Melissa are taking me apartment hunting when I go to Boston for Annie's baby shower in a couple weeks. This will be a new experience for all of us but I think it will be a welcome change. Especially given what has happened in school this year."  
Joanne smiled. " I can't wait for Annie to have the baby. I'm excited to be an aunt."  
"I'm equally as excited about being an uncle. It feels weird that I'm only 12 and I'm going to be an uncle." I said.

"It's very exciting for the whole family."

"Mom do you think we'll be able to go back to school?" I asked.

"That's what I came up here to talk to you two about actually." 

My sister and I exchanged a look.

"Mrs. Robertson has noticed you two and Casey have made outstanding progress in the past two months. How comfortable would you guys be about returning to school at the end of the month?"

"The end of the month?" Joanne's jaw dropped.  
"That's correct darling."  
"That's great news Mom. We really miss all our friends at school. We can't wait to go back!" I said.  
"Will Casey be going back to school too?" Joanne asked.  
Mom shook her head. "Unfortunately no. Mr and Mrs. Abramson have opted to homeschool him for the rest of the year. They've hired another private tutor. You two will definitely still get to see him though."  
"Are they moving to Framingham around the same time we move to Cambridge?" I asked.  
Mom shook her head "They're actually moving to Framingham on Memorial Day Weekend but we'll be moving to Cambridge about 3 weeks after as soon as school gets out."

I kissed Mom's cheek. "We love you Mom."  
Mom kissed my forehead and then kissed Joanne's. "You two are everything to me. Your father and I are so proud of you for much your grades have improved. We love you very much."

Annie had her baby on April 15th. His name is Victor James. Mom went down to Boston to stay at Aunt Jen's for a few days and when she came home she was bursting with excitement.  
"How's Annie doing Mama?" Joanne asked.  
Mom's smile was a mile wide. "There were some complications with the birth but Victor is doing a lot better now. He is the most precious thing ever."  
"When can we go visit Annie?" I asked.  
"She's only been home from the hospital for about three days so I think we should give her some time to relax. How about we go down next weekend?"  
Joanne and I smiled. "That sounds like a good plan Mom. We can't wait to meet Victor."  
After school on the following Friday we hopped on the train to Boston and arrived at Aunt Jen's apartment by 6:00pm. Aunt Jen and her new boyfriend Randy met us at the train station. They've been dating for about three months.  
"Hi Aunt Jen!!"  
Aunt Jen bent down to kiss my forehead. "Hello darling. We're so excited to have you guys stay with us. We haven't seen you since Thanksgiving."  
"Hi Randy." Joanne said smiling at my aunt's boyfriend  
"It's nice to see you three. I'm looking forward to a great weekend."  
" When are we going to visit Annie?" I asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon around 1. I bet you two are excited to meet your new nephew." Aunt Jen said.  
I nodded. "We sure are!"

When we got back to the apartment Uncle Alex Aunt Melissa Chris and Jake were waiting for us.

Aunt Melissa hugged Mom as she walked through the door. " I just hung up with Annie. She's bringing over the baby in about half an hour."  
"Hooray!! Now we don't have to wait until tomorrow to meet him." Joanne said.  
"Should we wait for them to eat so we can all eat together?" Jake asked.  
Aunt Jen nodded. "Set three extra places sweetheart." 

Uncle Alex smiled at us. "Are you two excited about moving here in a few months?"  
Joanne nodded. "You bet Uncle Alex! I can't wait to be closer to you guys and Annie and the baby. It will be good to be together as a whole family."

"Aren't you going to miss your friends though?" Chris asked.  
"Sure we will, but we're going to make a ton of new friends once we get settled in at the middle school." I said.  
Mom squeezed my shoulder. "I couldn't have said that any better sweetheart." 

Annie and Hector came about 25 minutes later with Victor in tow.

"Freddie, Jo meet your new nephew." Annie said  
We leaned over the car seat and looked in.  
"Were we that tiny when we were little?" Joanne asked  
Annie smiled. "I remember the day you two were born like it was yesterday. You were just as small as Victor is now."  
"He was really sick when he was born?" I asked.  
Hector nodded. "Yes. I think through out his life he will definitely have some health problems but we're ready for anything. Right sweetheart? "  
Annie kissed Hector's cheek softly. "You betcha."  
"Come on everyone let's eat. I just took the fish out of the oven." Aunt Jen said.

 

As soon as school got out we moved down to Cambridge. Molly and Isabella were moving to Massachusetts too. They were getting jobs in Allston and Brighton. They came over to help us set up our new rooms."

"Freddie have you talked to Casey at all since you've been here?" Isabella asked

I shook my head. "Once we get settled we're going to have his family over for dinner. I can't wait to see Casey again. Things have been so busy with moving that I never got to see him before he left Queens."  
"You two must be pretty excited about starting your new school." Isabella said,  
I nodded. " I think we're both a little nervous to be honest. Is that normal?"  
Molly smiled. "Perfectly. When we first moved to Queens I was pretty nervous about starting at a new school. Luckily I knew all of Isabella's friends really well before school started.. that helped ease the transition a little bit."  
Joanne was sitting on the floor helping me unpack a box of clothes. She had not said anything.  
"Are you alright Jo?" Molly asked  
Joanne sighed. "No, not really. I really miss Jasmine a lot. It's even harder now that we live farther away. What if she forgets about me?"  
Molly put her arm around my sister. "That would never happen. You and Jasmine have been friends for a long time. I don't think she'd forget about you just because you go to school in different states."  
"Are you sure?"  
Molly kissed her forehead. "Absolutely positive. You have her address at school and at home. Why don't you write her a letter? Maybe you can see if she can come visit this summer. How about you me Bella and I do a special girls weekend and she can come with us too?"  
Joanne's face brightened. "That would be fun. I always look so forward to those special girls only outings that we used to do with Annie. Calling her might be easier than writing her a letter though."  
"We can go to Boston to go out to lunch and shopping how does that sound?"  
Joanne smiled at my sister. "Great! Thanks Mol! I love you!""  
"I love you too Jo." 

School started on September 8th. Molly and Isabella ended up being right. Joanne and I had no trouble at all making new friends. We got involved in activities right away. I decided to join the travel basketball league instead of playing soccer for a change of pace. Joanne joined the intermural soocer team in the school newspaper. Jasmine would be coming down to visit for our birthday party at the end of the month. Joanne couldn't wait to introduce her to our new friends.

On the Tuesday before our birthday party Mom came to the dinner table looking really upset.  
"Mama, why are you sad?" Joanne asked.

"Kids we're having a guest stay with us this weekend."  
Joanne and I still couldn't figure out why our mother was so sad. "Who is it?"  
"Casey's sister Megan."  
"Casey's not coming over too? I asked.  
Mom shook her head. "No sweetheart. "  
"Why not?"  
Mom exchanged a look with Grandma Helen.  
"Frederick, Joanne Casey's brother Darryl is not with us any longer." Grandma Helen said.  
"What?" We both said,  
Mom choked back a sob and Dad rubbed her hands up and down her back.

"Darryl committed suicide early this morning. A jogger found his body hanging by a tree branch at 8:30 am."

Dad cleared his throat. "Megan is staying over on Friday night while her parents and Casey go shopping for stuff they need to buy for the wake and funeral services."

"Why would Darryl do something like that? All his parents were trying to do was helping him to get better."

'My sweet boy... there was so much tension in that household since the shooting last year. I think he just couldn't handle all the emotions he was feeling." Grandma Helen said.  
"That sounds really selfish to me. Did he not realize how many people cared about him?" Joanne asked.  
Dad sighed. "I'm sure he did darling. I think on top of his paranoid schizophrenia he was also depressed about issues related to the shooting. He wasn't forthcoming about admitting he was depressed. If he had been he could have been treated for that. That probably would have saved his life."  
"Did he feel really bad for hurting all those people?" I asked  
Mom nodded. "Mrs. Abramson said there was a note on his bed that simply read "I'm sorry for causing everyone so much pain. I love you."

"When are the services?"  
"The wake is Monday night from 6-8 and the funeral is Tuesday at 9am. You two will go to school late that day." Mom said.  
We nodded.  
"I can't believe this happened." Joanne said  
Mom squeezed her hand under the table. " None of us can my darling girl."

Tuesday morning we were up at 7:45 to get ready to go to Darryl's services. Mr. and Mrs. Samuels Anna and Jasmine had come in from New York the night before and were staying at Casey's house. When we got to the church Mom reached out and hugged Mrs. Samuels. "How are you all holding up?"  
"As good as we can given the circumstances. I think the girls are still in shock." Mrs. Samuels said.  
Mom pulled Anna and Jasmine in a hug and kissed each of them on the forehead. "Hello darlings."  
"Hi Mrs. Warbucks. " Anna whispered.  
"We love you." Jasmine said.  
"We love you all too sweetheart. We'll all get through this rough spot together." Mom said.  
The usher led us to our seats. We were sitting in the same pew as the Abramsons. I sat next to Casey.  
"Hey Freddie."  
I put my arm around him. "I'm really sorry about Darryl Case."  
"It's going to be even harder to get used to him not being here. It's just surreal. You know what I mean? I didn't expect him to kill himself. I wanted to help him get better as much as I could."  
Megan was sitting on Mrs. Abramson's lap. Her head was nuzzled deep into her shoulder. She was crying. Mrs. Abramson looked like she hadn't slept well in several days.  
Mr. Abramson got up to speak at the microphone.  
"This has been a rough year for our family and this adds extra hurt to our lives. Today we are here to reflect on Darryl's short life and the impact it had on us all. We'd like to thank our family and friends especially Grace and Oliver Warbucks and Erica and Tim Samuels for all the support they have shown us in the past year. We couldn't be more grateful for your support. We love you all very much."  
The funeral service lasted for about an hour. Afterwards we went to Casey's house for a little while before going back to school. Anna reached into her purse for a tissue. "I can't believe Darryl's gone. I'm going to miss him a lot."

Joanne reached out to hug Anna. "This is a shock to all of us I think. Despite the fact Darryl was nasty to us sometimes I am going to miss him."  
Anna put her arm around Joanne and Jasmine and pulled them into a hug. "Always remember that I'm here for you guys. The same thing for you and Casey Freddie."  
I nodded. "We love you Anna."  
"I love you all too."

Mom came over to us, "Okay kids. We're going to take you back to school now. Say your goodbyes."  
Anna pulled us all into a hug. "We'll see you guys soon. Mom said we're going to all go out to dinner for your birthday next weekend. There are a lot of nice restaurants on the campus of our private school in Brooklyn. It will be our treat."  
Joanne smiled. "Sounds great. Molly also said that you and Jas can come visit us some weekend and we'll go shopping or to the movies."  
Jasmine smiled. "That sounds so much fun. We can't wait to see your new house and see Molly and Isabella again."


End file.
